Asymmetric nexus between pandemic uncertainty and public health spendings: Evidence from quantile estimation

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant challenges to healthcare systems worldwide, prompting governments to allocate substantial resources toward public health spendings (PHS). However, the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic have raised questions about the effectiveness and sustainability of such expenditures. This research analyzes the nonlinear link between pandemic uncertainty (PNU) and PHS in countries with highest PNU (USA, India, France, Germany, UK, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, and China). Previous studies have employed panel data methodologies to establish consistent findings regarding the relationship between pandemics and health spendings, regardless of the fact that several countries have not autonomously recognized this connection. In contrast, this current research adopts a distinctive tool called "quantile-on-quantile," which enables the examination of time series dependency within each economy, providing both international and country-specific perspectives on the relationship between the variables. The estimations indicate that PNU leads to an increase in PHS in the vast majority of economies chosen by us, focusing on definite segments of the data distribution. Moreover, the data demonstrates that there are differences in the asymmetry between the variables across various nations. This underscores the need for policymakers to take careful deliberation when formulating policies related to health spendings and addressing the challenges posed by pandemic uncertainty.