INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACTS OF ECONOMIC CRISES ON THE HEALTH SYSTEM IN TURKEY: AN ARDL BOUNDS TESTING APPROACH

Abstract

In this study, the impacts of 1994, 2001 and 2009 economic crises on 9 indicators related to the health system in Turkey between 1974-2015 were investigated through the ARDL Cointegration approach. It was found that the 1994 economic crisis affected the total number of other health personnel significantly (p<0.05) in a negative way. The 2001 economic crisis was found to have a significantly negative effect on public health expenditures, total health expenditures and number of beds. For the 2009 economic crisis, private and total health expenditures decreased significantly (p<0,05), while public health expenditures increased significantly (p<0.05). Conclusively, in this study, it has been found that political choice plays an important factor in the impacts of the economic crises on the health system.