Efficiency of Healthcare Financing: Case of European Countries

Abstract

Global turbulence and uncertainty force civil servants and executors to optimise public finance distribution. The COVID-19 pandemic aligned with the necessity of assessing the efficiency of healthcare financing due to its capability in overcoming the negative consequences. The paper analyses the peculiarities of healthcare financing in 34 European countries and points out trends and changes in its structure and dynamics. It also realises cluster analysis to reveal models of healthcare financing and their specific features. Panel data regression analysis was used to assess the efficiency of healthcare financing within each cluster by clarifying the relationship between healthcare expenditures and public health outcome—life expectancy. The distributed lag model was also used to test for time lags between financial inflows in healthcare and its outcome. Empirical results highlight key tips for optimising healthcare financing and creating the benchmark model.