Governance and health: Cross-country evidence

Abstract

This study assesses the impact of governance on population health in 126 countries over the period 1996-2008. In contrast to previous studies where corruption is used as a sole indicator for governance, this study investigates various aspects of governance and their impacts on population's health by employing six measures of governance from the Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and Accountability, Political Stability, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, and Control of Corruption. Among our results, the most robust finding is the negative and statistically significant impact of six measures of governance on infant mortality, under-5 mortality rates and maternal mortality ratio. Results suggest that it is important to institute health governance which concerns the actions and means adopted by a society to organize itself in the promotion and protection of the health of its population. © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2012.