The Impacts of Urbanization and Economic Components on Public Health in Turkey: 2014-2018 Panel Data Analysis

Abstract

After the Covid-19 Pandemic process, the focus of academic research in economics and urbanization consist of economic and sociopolitical components that affect public health and fundamental challenge encountered on that issue. Health expenditures have played an important role in public health policies. Urban dynamics, economic development initiatives, and ecological constraints are directly or indirectly determinative on public health expenditures. In this context, the main purpose of the study is to analyze the explanatory relationship between public health expenditures and economic and sociopolitical parameters regarding urbanization and environmental factors. For this purpose, the Panel EGLS model was used to determine the factors that have an impact on public health expenditures for 30 metropolitan cities in Turkey between 2014 and 2018. As a result of the study, it is concluded that the costs of protecting and enhancing public health increased due to excessive population density, air pollution, insufficient hygiene conditions, wastes, and limited urban green space per person caused by rapid and unplanned urbanization in Turkey. Likewise, it is found that socio-demographic parameters such as rise in energy consumption, high education level, and elder population rate, increased demand for public health services.