Impact of urbanization and income inequality on life expectancy of male and female in South Asian countries: a moderating role of health expenditures

Abstract Urbanization, income inequality and health expenditures are important factors of life expectancy. Urbanization and income inequalities are avoidable occurrences to tackle the health penalties. The objective of this study is to estimate the impact of urbanization and income inequality on the life expectancy male and female in six selected South Asian countries. To investigate the impact of urbanization and income inequality on life expectancy, eight econometric models are specified and estimated with recent panel data from 1997 to 2021. Based on the Hausman test, the random effect model is used for estimation. Life expectancy male and life expectancy female, respectively, are the dependent variables. Urbanization and income inequality are the independent variables, and health expenditure is the control variable. Further, the study finds the interaction effect of health expenditure with urbanization on life expectancy (male and female). Results explain that urbanization, income inequality and health expenditure have significant impacts on life expectancy in the case of both male and female. In both cases, life expectancy is negatively affected by urbanization and income inequality, whereas health expenditure has a positive impact on life expectancy. Health expenditures moderate the impact of urbanization on life expectancies of male and female with a small size effect. It explains that the negative impact of urbanization can be mitigated through health expenditures. The results of the study are robust. Based on the results of the study, policy-makers may suggest overcoming the problems of urbanization. It is a dire need to redistribute income in South Asian countries to achieve better health and improve life expectancy. More public health expenditures are required in these countries to provide more health facilities, especially in urban areas, to mitigate the impact of urbanization on life expectancy.