Environmental degradation and population health outcomes: a global panel data analysis

This study investigates the relationship between environmental degradation and population health using a global panel data of 180 countries from 1990 to 2016. The empirical analysis is conducted using fixed-effects approach based on Hausman test. Moreover, two-stage least squares (2SLS) and system-generalized method of moments (SGMM) are used to deal with the endogenous nature of environmental degradation. The indicators of life expectancy and infant mortality are used to measure population health, whereas environmental degradation is measured by CO₂ emissions. The empirical findings show that environmental degradation negatively influences population health outcomes. It implies that countries having a high level of environmental degradation experience low life expectancy and high infant mortality rates. Findings of the study suggest that health-related reforms need to be aligned with policies which ensure lower environmental degradation.