Human development and inequalities: The importance of social public spending

Ronald Miranda, Leonel Muinelo-Gallo and Oriol Roca-Sagales

Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 2024, vol. 69, issue C, 363-377

Abstract: In this article, we empirically analyse the impact of social public spending on human development distribution in a sample of 82 developed and developing countries over the period 2010–2021. Specifically, we focus on the impact of the three components of social spending (health, education and social protection) on the distribution of human development as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI) and its dimensions (health, education, and income). Applying data panel analysis, our empirical evidence shows that the three components of social expenditure reduce the loss of HDI caused by inequality. Hence, public resources allocated towards social spending have an important redistributive impact with regards to human development outcomes related to life expectancy, years of schooling and income per capita.

Keywords: Human development; Social public expenditure; Inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H5 H51 H52 I15 I25 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:streco:v:69:y:2024:i:c:p:363-377

DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2023.12.008

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