Economic complexity and health outcomes: A global perspective

Area of Science:

• Economics
• Public Health
• Economic Geography

Background:

• National health status is influenced by various factors, including socioeconomic determinants.
• The relationship between a country's economic structure and its population's health outcomes requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of a nation's productive capabilities, specifically the sophistication of its export bundle, on its overall health status.
• To investigate the role of the economic complexity index (ECI) in explaining variations in national health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized unbalanced panel data from 103 countries spanning from 1970 to 2015.
• Employed the economic complexity index (ECI), derived from export product sophistication, as a measure of productive capabilities.
• Analyzed the relationship between ECI and health indicators, exploring potential mediating channels.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a strong and robust positive correlation between exporting complex products and better average population health outcomes.
• Found that countries with higher economic complexity generally exhibit superior health status compared to those exporting less sophisticated goods.
• Identified strengthening employment opportunities as a significant channel through which economic complexity influences health improvements.

Conclusions:

• A country's economic structure, particularly its capacity to produce and export sophisticated goods, is a significant determinant of national health.
• Promoting structural transformation towards a more diverse and complex export base can foster substantial improvements in population health.
• Policy interventions aimed at enhancing economic complexity may serve as an effective strategy for improving public health outcomes.