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Household disability costs and living standards in Turkey: evidence from a health reform

Oznur Ozdamar (Economics, Bakircay University, Izmir, Turkey)
Eleftherios Giovanis (Economics, Policy and International Business (EPIB), Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK) (Public Finance, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey)
Sahizer Samuk (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg)

International Journal of Social Economics

ISSN: 0306-8293

Article publication date: 24 December 2020

Issue publication date: 26 January 2021

182

Abstract

Purpose

In this study, we attempt to estimate the disability costs of households employing the Standard of Livings (SoL) approach and evaluate the impact of the Universal health system reform implemented in Turkey in 2008.

Design/methodology/approach

We apply a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), which simultaneously estimates the disability and living standard equations, including unobserved latent variables. Moreover, we apply a difference-in-differences (DiD) framework to investigate the impact of the universal health insurance (UHI) system and the Green Card programme on living standards. The empirical analysis relies on data derived from the cross-sectional Household Budget Surveys (HBS) during the period 2002–2013.

Findings

Our findings suggest a negative and significant impact of disability on SoL, where disability costs reach the 23% of the household income, which is equivalent almost to $2,600 (USD). Furthermore, the disability costs are reduced from $4,450 to $2,260 due to the UHI and the Green Card programme.

Research limitations/implications

A major limitation of the study is the data structure, which is based on repeated cross-sectional surveys. By using panel data, it is possible to follow the same individual across time and to implement panel data models to control for unobserved heterogeneity and omitted-variable bias.

Social implications

Disability has adverse effects on living standards. The estimation of the disability-related costs may provide a useful guide on policy planning and the design of social benefits.

Originality/value

The contribution of this paper is that it is the first study estimating the disability-related costs in Turkey. Furthermore, the contribution lies in the investigation of the 2008 health reform and the Green Card programme and its impact on disability costs.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was based on data from the Household Budget Survey (HBS) cross-sectional during period 2002-2013 provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT). The data are the copyright of TURKSTAT. The use of the data in this work does not imply the endorsement of TURKSTAT in relation to the interpretation or analysis of the data.This study is an update of an earlier version published as a discussion working paper from the Economic Research Forum (ERF), which funded this project, and it is available at https://ideas.repec.org/p/erg/wpaper/1060.html.Funding: This work is sponsored by the Economic Research Forum (ERF) and the grant received under the call “ERF-GDN 16 RRC call on “Economics of Healthcare in the MENA Region”. It has benefited from both financial and intellectual support. The contents and recommendations do not necessarily reflect ERF’s views. The authors are grateful to ERF for the financial support received.

Citation

Ozdamar, O., Giovanis, E. and Samuk, S. (2021), "Household disability costs and living standards in Turkey: evidence from a health reform", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 48 No. 2, pp. 318-333. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-01-2020-0015

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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