Financial Development, Public Health Financing, and Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Financial Development, Public Health Financing, and Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Financial Development, Public Health Financing, and Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa Abubakar Musah, Godfred Aawaar, Godwin Musah, Abdallah Abdul-Mumuni This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4784259/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted 17 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background This paper examines the effect of financial development on health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study decomposes financial development into access, depth, and efficiency and test their separate effects on health outcomes. The paper also examines interaction effect of public health spending and financial development on health outcomes. Methods This paper is based on panel data for forty-five countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) collected from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the period 2000 to 2021. We adopt the 2-step system GMM as the estimation technique to examine the relationships among the variables. Results The findings show that improvement in financial development measures improves health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The findings further show that, in SSA, higher out-of-pocket expenses lead to worsening health outcomes. The relationship between financial development and health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa is strongly moderated by public health financing and out-of-pocket medical expenses. Conclusions The findings imply that financial development, public health financing, and out-of-pocket health expenditure are critical when it comes to health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. To lower infant and maternal mortality rates and raise life expectancy, actions must be taken to strengthen the financial system and lower household out-of-pocket medical expenses whilst increasing public health financing. These findings guide health policy formulation for the improvement of health outcomes in SSA. Financial development public health financing out-of-pocket health expenditure health outcomes sub-Saharan Africa Figures Figure 1 1. Introduction The importance of health cannot be stressed enough given the fact that, it precedes all human activities. The socioeconomic development of a nation is highly dependent on the wellbeing of its citizens. Investments in health is therefore non-negotiable as evidenced in the findings of Chireshe and Ocran [ 1 ]. It is therefore not surprising that health features prominently in multilateral development programmes such as the sustainable development goals (SDG3) and earlier the millennium development goals (MDG4, MDG5, MDG6). Quality of health care in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has improved marginally since the adoption of the millennium development goals [ 2 ]. However, progress is still substantially below the expectations of the people. Despite the numerous efforts to improve the health of the people in the region, health outcomes remain poor compared to the rest of the world. Maternal and child health is still a significant public health concern in SSA. In 2017 for instance, the region recorded the highest maternal mortality ratio in the world, with about 533 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births [ 3 ]. In 2020 alone, SSA region’s 202,000 maternal deaths represented 70% of all maternal deaths globally [ 4 ]. The under-five mortality rate of 76 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019 in SSA was the highest in the world [ 3 ]. WHO [ 5 ] also reports that an estimated 1 out 13 children in the SSA sub-region die before their fifth birthday compared to 1 out 199 in high-income countries. WHO [ 5 ] further reports that the region has the highest neonatal mortality rate globally, with 27 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 3 deaths per 1,000 live 5births in high-income countries. The poor state of health in SSA is due mainly to the low levels of investment in the sector. Access to healthcare is limited in the region, with only 16% of the population having access to basic healthcare services in 2019 [ 6 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated existing health challenges in the region, with limited resources and health systems overwhelmed by the pandemic [ 7 ]. According to WHO, in 2020, the sub-Saharan Africa region accounted for 25% of the global disease burden, but only had 3% of the world's health workforce [ 8 ]. SSA’s low level of investment in the health sector stems from inadequate resources to fund investments in the health sector. WHO reports [ 6 ] show that, in 2021, the average healthcare expenditure in SSA is a meagre $ 186 per capita, compared to $ 3,840 in high-income countries. The Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) reports show that health funding is heavily dependent on external aid in many SSA countries. Aid, however, can be unpredictable and depends heavily on changes in donor priorities [ 9 ]. This reliance on external funding can lead to instability and a lack of sustainable investment in health systems. It also limits the ability of the sub-region to provide sufficient healthcare services in order to address the growing disease burden. The allocation of health funding is often skewed towards curative services rather than preventative services, which can have long-term benefits for population health. Another challenge in health financing in SSA is the application of funds. Only about 2% of total health spending is allocated to prevention and public health programs [ 6 ]. This lack of investment in preventative measures can lead to the escalation of preventable diseases and higher healthcare costs in the long term. There is the need therefore, to explore avenues through which domestic revenue mobilisation can be enhanced in order to provide adequate and sustainable funding to healthcare in SSA. Financial development could be an avenue through which health investment in healthcare could improve as it broadens the scope of opportunities available for individuals, businesses, and government to raise funds for healthcare investments [ 1 , 10 ]. This can lead to better access to healthcare services, which can in turn reduce morbidity and mortality rates and improve overall health outcomes [ 10 ]. Additionally, developed financial markets promote risk pooling, thereby reducing the burden of cost of healthcare on households and individuals [ 11 ]. Health insurance and social health protection programs can provide a safety net for individuals and households facing high healthcare costs [ 11 ]. Although a number of efforts have been made, including the pioneering work of Claessens and Feijin [ 12 ] to empirically analyse the nexus between financial development and health outcomes, some gaps still remain. In the sub – Saharan context for instance, evidence on the nexus between financial development and health outcomes is scanty and limited to the work of Chireshe and Ocran [ 1 ]. Furthermore, empirical research on the nexus between financial development and health outcomes mostly rely on financial depth and in a few instances financial access using single dimension measures. However, the use of unidimensional measures of financial development come with limitations [ 13 ]. Researchers have voiced legitimate concerns about the use of single variable proxies for financial development given that it is a multifaceted concept [ 13 – 21 ]. Svirydzenka [ 13 ] noted that access and efficiency are equally important in assessing the quality of financial systems. If financial institutions and markets are inefficient, financial development's contribution to economic progress would be restricted even if a financial system is sufficiently large and can provide broad access to businesses and individuals [ 13 ]. Evidence on the effects of the decomposed dimensions of financial development on health outcomes are however missing. Via a number of routes, including income, education, credit access, infrastructure, and risk management, financial development improves health outcomes [ 12 , 22 ]. Effective private and public mobilization of funds to finance healthcare is enhanced in a more developed and competitive financial system. It is argued that the benefits of financial development are translated into improvement in socio-economic wellbeing through public spending [ 1 , 23 , 24 ]. However, the literature fails to examine the interaction effect of public health financing and financial development on health outcomes. Additionally, the disastrous impact of out-of-pocket health spending by households is mitigated or minimised by improved financial sector. This paper is therefore motivated by the need to fill these obvious gaps and contribute to policy formulation by: analysing the effect of multi-dimensional measures of financial development on health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. examining the interaction effect of public health financing and financial development measures on health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa analysing the interaction effect of out-of-pocket health expenditure and financial development on health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2. Literature Review This section discusses the empirical findings on the nexus between financial development and health outcomes. Also presented here is the theoretical framework on which the study hinges. The theoretical literature and framework are presented in section 2.1 whiles the empirical literature is presented in section 2.2 . 2.1 Theoretical Literature 2.1.1 The Human Capital Theory According to the theory of human capital, expenditures on services such as education, healthcare, and on-the-job training constitute investments in people that yield long-term benefits for both individuals and society as a whole [ 25 – 27 ]. Expenditure by government, firms, and households on health could significantly improve health outcomes such as mortality, morbidity and overall wellbeing [ 1 , 28 ]. However, the ability of these economic agents to spend depends on their abilities to raise funds for such investments. One strategy for increasing people's opportunities is improving financial sector development, which gives them competitive options for acquiring health insurance as well as opportunities to earn income [ 29 ]. The government receives more tax money as a result of increased income for both individuals and corporations due to financial sector development. Bhatta [ 29 ] presents the theoretical linkages between health outcomes and financial development in line with the approach of Grossman [ 30 ] who argues that health outcomes is a function of individual inputs. Bhatta [ 29 ] identified financial sector development, together with health infrastructure and government efforts, as the input variables in the determination of medical care supply. The financial system influences the availability of medical care through allocating funds for research and development, funding health education, building the infrastructure for health care, and lowering the cost of health insurance so that a larger segment of the population can afford it [ 29 ]. Bhatta [ 29 ] goes on to say that the price of medical care, people's health status, and the interest rate on loans are the three input variables for demand for medical care. According to Claessens and Feijin [ 12 ], households may now use credit and insurance products to help subsidize their investment in healthcare as a result of financial sector development. Economic growth creates opportunities that are indirectly created by financial development. As a result, more money is made, and individuals are better able to spend money on their health. When the economy expands, the government also receives more revenue from taxes, which allows it to spend more on public infrastructure for health care and give subsidies to residents. To summarise, the human capital theory establishes that expenditure on health leads to improvement in health outcomes such as life expectancy at birth, maternal mortality rate, disease prevalence, and child mortality rate. Financial development improves incomes of both individuals and government through economic growth, making health spending possible. Financial development also makes borrowing easy for households, makes insurance accessible to households, and facilitates access to healthcare. Theoretically, financial development influences health outcomes both directly (by making insurance more accessible and relaxing borrowing requirements) and indirectly (by increasing household and governmental earnings as a result of economic growth). 2.2 Empirical Literature Empirical literature on the nexus between financial development and health outcome is scanty. Researchers have paid much more attention to the effect of financial development on economic growth and the effect of education expenditures on health outcomes [ 31 ]. None the less, a few studies have been done on the topic. In Sub-Sharan Africa, the work of Chireshe and Ocran [ 1 ] remain prominent. They however failed to examine the effect of financial efficiency on health outcomes. Using information from 54 economies, Claessens and Feijen [ 12 ] conducted a ground-breaking analysis on the effect of financial development on health outcomes. They discovered a significant positive relationship between life expectancy and private credit to GDP. Also, they discovered a link between private credit, GDP, and the death rate for children under the age of five. In a different study, Claessens and Feijen [ 12 ] used data from a sample of 49 countries to examine the effect of financial development on malnutrition. They employed panel regression estimation techniques, cross-country OLS, and instrumental variables. The findings showed that improving the financial sector lowers the rate of malnutrition. Both studies, however, made use of single dimensional measures of financial development and do not also focus on SSA. Claessens and Feijen [ 12 ] also fail to incorporate the separate effects of financial access, financial depth, and financial efficiency in their analyses. Bhatta [ 29 ] looks at the relationship between financial development and health outcomes in the setting of low-income Asian and high-income OECD nations. According to the study's findings, financial development helps to improve health outcomes including longer life expectancies and decreased infant mortality. The financial development factors have larger correlations with health outcomes for developing nations than for developed nations, indicating that financial development is more important in producing better health outcomes in developing nations than in developed nations. However, Bhatta's analysis does not examine the routes via which financial growth might affect health outcomes. In South Africa, the direction of causation between financial development and human capital was also explored by Hakeem and Oluitan [ 22 ]. The analysis discovered that there was only a marginal correlation between financial development and all proxies for human capital, with the exception of life expectancy and secondary school enrolment. Similar to the majority of research in the literature, the impacts of the financial development's component parts broken down have not been discussed. By examining the relationship between financial development and health outcomes using micro and macro data sets, Rewilak [ 32 ] added to the nascent research on the topic. The study demonstrated a negative correlation between infant and child mortality rates and deep financial systems, as determined by bank deposits as a percentage of GDP. Alam et al. [ 24 ] use yearly data spanning the years 1972–2013 to examine the contribution of financial development to the sharp increase in life expectancy in Bangladesh. They demonstrate that there is a long-run link between financial development and life expectancy in the context of globalization, income inequality, and economic growth by using cointegration and the ARDL bounds testing approach. The long-run elasticities show that globalization and financial development have a favourable impact on Bangladesh's life expectancy. Their study only used one financial development indicator and did not examine the effect of financial development components on health outcomes. The study differs from the current study in the sense that the findings are limited to Bangladesh and fails to capture cross country dynamics. In sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations, Chireshe and Ocran [ 1 ] investigated the impact of financial development on child health outcomes and life expectancy. They discovered that financial depth and access have a beneficial impact on health outcomes in SSA using the single proxies of financial access (number of TMS and commercial bank branches per 100 000 persons) and financial depth (Broad Money and bank loans to the private sector to GDP ratios). These conclusions were true regardless of the models used (random effect, fixed effect, and 2SLS). Yet instead of looking at the effects of financial efficiency and the overall development of the financial sector on health outcomes, they depend on unidimensional measurements of financial access and depth. Additionally, their study did not examine the transmission mechanism of financial development through public health financing on health outcomes. Health care spending, according to Chireshe et al. [ 1 ] and Rana et al. [ 23 ], is a crucial channel via which financial development affects health outcomes. Government is able to efficiently mobilise revenue in a better financial system. On the other hand, public spending enhances the financial sector performance, and it makes it more liquid. An interaction effect capturing this transmission is therefore necessary, particularly in the most deprived setting (Sub-Saharan Africa). 3. Methodology and Data This section presents the methodology of the study, which is in four phases. Firstly, this section presents the description of the main variables used. Secondly, we present the data and the sources of the data used in this study. In the final stage, we specify the empirical model and the estimation technique which helps us to estimate the linkages between the various measures of health outcomes and the various measures of financial development. 3.1 Variable Descriptions and Measurements 3.1.1 Dependent Variables Health outcomes is the dependent (outcome) variable of this study. Three (3) measures of health outcomes are used in this study, maternal mortality, child mortality, and life expectancy at birth. We compute an index for child mortality using under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births), neonatal mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) and infant mortality rate (per, 1,000 live births). We use maternal mortality and life expectancy at birth (years) as a stand-alone additional measures of health outcomes. These variables are commonly used as measures of health outcomes. 3.1.2 Independent Variables Financial Development Financial development is the main independent variable of this study. Different measures have been used by different researchers. Financial development is defined as the set of elements, regulations, and institutions that contribute to successful financial intermediation and markets, as well as deep and broad access to funds and financial services [ 33 ]. Researchers have often focused on single dimension measures of financial development such as the ratio of private credit to GDP, money supply, market capitalisation, and commercial bank branches [ 34 – 37 ]. Using such measures, however, does not prove sufficient as various aspects of finance capture different aspects of financial performance [ 14 ]. A financial development index most appropriately captures various aspects of financial development [ 38 ]. This study employs the IMF broad –based measure of financial development first proposed by Sahay et al [ 16 ] and computed by Svirydzenka [ 13 ]. These measures of financial development capture various aspects of financial development from financial markets to financial institutions across depth, access, and efficiency. In line with Musah and Aawaar [ 21 ], this study extends the IMF data by computing broad-based indices for financial depth, financial access, and financial efficiency using the computed variables of access, depth, and efficiency for both financial markets and financial institutions from the IMF database. The study constructs an index for financial depth using financial institutions depth and financial markets depth, financial access using access to financial institutions and access to financial markets, and financial efficiency using financial institutions efficiency and financial markets efficiency. Public Health Expenditure Different researchers use different measures for public health financing (PHF) in the literature. In this study, public health financing is measured as government expenditure on health expressed as percentage of GDP. This measure more appropriately captures total health financing by government. Out-of-pocket Health Expenditure This represents household healthcare spending. Households directly pay for healthcare through out-of-pocket costs. We utilize the WDI of the World Bank's out-of-pocket health spending per capita in international dollars at purchasing power parity. 3.1.3 Control Variables This paper includes basic infrastructure measured as the proportion of the population who have access to basic water services, real GDP per capita, and education level measured as gross enrolment ratio in primary education as control variables. In line with the human capital theory and the Claessens and Feijin [ 12 ] model, this paper analyses the relationships among the study variables using the framework presented in Fig. 1. Source: Figure by authors 3.2 Data and Sources This study collects data for the period 2000 to 2020 for forty-five (45) sub-Saharan African countries. The choice of this period is based purely on data availability on the study variables, particularly on the health outcomes for the sub-Saharan African context. Data on health outcomes (maternal mortality rate, under-five mortality, neo-natal mortality, life expectancy at birth, and public health financing – measured as general government health expenditure expressed as a percentage of GDP) are downloaded from Health Statistics (World Development Indicators, WDI) of the World Bank. Financial development data is collected from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF broad-based financial development data computed by Svirydzenka [ 13 ] first developed by Sahay et al [ 16 ] is used. Data on the control variables are also collected from the World Development Indicators of the World Bank. 3.3 Empirical Model and Estimation Technique In line with the human capital theory and previous works [ 1 , 12 , 39 ], this study models health outcomes as a function of financial development, public health financing, out-of-pocket expenditure, and the control variables. $$\:{\text{H}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}=\text{f}\left({\text{F}\text{D}}_{\text{i}\text{t}},{\:\text{P}\text{H}\text{F}}_{\text{i}\text{t}},{\text{O}\text{O}\text{P}}_{\text{i}\text{t}},\:{\:\text{G}\text{D}\text{P}}_{\text{i}\text{t}},\:{\text{I}\text{N}\text{F}\text{R}\text{A}}_{\text{i}\text{t}},{\text{E}\text{D}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}\right)\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\text{e}\text{q}.\left(1\right)$$ Where \(\:\:H\) is health outcomes measured in three (3) ways as described in section 3.1.1 of this thesis, \(\:PHF\) is public health financing, \(\:FD\) is financial development measured in four ways as described in section 3.1.2, \(\:OOP\) is out-of-pocket health expenditure by households, \(\:GDP\) is gross domestic product per capita, INFRA is infrastructure, and ED is education. We then transform the model in \(\:eq.\:\left(1\right)\) taking the natural log of the variables in order to linearize the relationships among the study variables in the model and normalise the data [ 1 ]. $$\:\text{ln}{\text{H}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}={{\delta\:}}_{0}+{{{\delta\:}}_{1}\text{H}}_{\text{i}\text{t}-1}+{{\delta\:}}_{2}\text{ln}{\text{F}\text{D}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{3}\text{ln}{\:\text{P}\text{H}\text{F}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{4}{\text{ln}\text{O}\text{O}\text{P}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{5}\text{ln}{\:\text{G}\text{D}\text{P}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{6}{\text{ln}\text{I}\text{N}\text{F}\text{R}\text{A}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{7}\text{ln}{\text{E}\text{D}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\epsilon\:}\:}_{\text{i}\text{t}}\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\text{e}\text{q}.\left(2\right)$$ To capture the moderating roles of out-of-pocket expenditure and public health financing, we introduce interaction terms as shown in Eq. (3). $$\:\text{ln}{\text{H}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}={{\delta\:}}_{0}+{{{\delta\:}}_{1}\text{H}}_{\text{i}\text{t}-1}+{{\delta\:}}_{2}\text{ln}{\text{F}\text{D}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{3}\text{ln}{\:\text{P}\text{H}\text{F}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{4}\left(\text{ln}{\text{F}\text{D}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}\times\:\text{ln}{\:\text{P}\text{H}\text{F}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}\right)+{{\delta\:}}_{5}{\text{ln}\text{O}\text{O}\text{P}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{6}(\text{ln}{\text{F}\text{D}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}\times\:{\text{ln}\text{O}\text{O}\text{P}}_{\text{i}\text{t}})+\:{{\delta\:}}_{7}\text{ln}{\:\text{G}\text{D}\text{P}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{8}{\text{ln}\text{I}\text{N}\text{F}\text{R}\text{A}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\delta\:}}_{9}\text{ln}{\text{E}\text{D}}_{\text{i}\text{t}}+{{\epsilon\:}\:}_{\text{i}\text{t}}\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\:\text{e}\text{q}.\left(3\right)$$ To address possible endogeneity issues due to the dynamic nature of the dependent variables, this paper estimates Eq. (3) using the Blundell and Bond's [ 40 ] Two-Step System Generalized Method of Moment Estimator (two-step system GMM). The paper employs the two-step estimator in conjunction with Windmeijer's [ 41 ] robust corrected standard errors. There are various reasons why the two-step SGMM was adopted. Firstly, the system GMM methodology enables us to treat the dependent variable as a dynamic process, accounting for the dependent variable's previous level and the possibility for the effect of past health outcomes on present health outcomes. Second, the usage of the SGMM is more suitable since there are more countries (N = 45) than there are periods (T = 21). Finally, because the panel is dynamic, the GMM method enables us to adjust for endogeneity and potential nickel bias. While health outcomes studies are prone to endogeneity problems [ 24 ] and it might be challenging to obtain reliable external instruments, depending on a strategy that utilizes internal instruments can help allay endogeneity worries. We use the Arellano and Bond test for second-order serial correlation in the error term and the Sargan/Hansen test of overidentification limits to assess the consistency of estimates. Roodman [ 42 ] claims that the Sargan and Hansen tests evaluate sample analogues of the estimation's moment conditions in order to assess the validity of the instruments. Due to the unreliability of study results from very prolific instruments, the number of instruments employed should not exceed the number of groups. Last but not least, the error term could be serially correlated in the first order but not in the second order since that might indicate that the model has been mis-specified. 4. Results and Discussion This section presents and discusses the regression results on the relationship among the variables, health outcomes, financial development, public health financing, out-of-pocket health expenditure and the control variables. The descriptive statistics, pairwise correlation, and the GMM estimations are presented and discussed in this section. Section 4.1 presents and discusses the descriptive statistics, the pairwise correlations, and the unit root test results. Section 4.2 presents and discusses the GMM estimation results for the relationships among the study variables. 4.1 Descriptive Statistics This section presents discusses the summary statistics (Table 1 ), the correlation matrix of the explanatory variables (Table 2 ), and the unit root test results for the study variables (Table 3 ). Table 1 Descriptive Statistics Variables Obs. Mean Std. Dev. Min Max Source Life Expectancy at Birth 945 58.63 6.662 42.125 77.237 WDI Neonatal Mortality Rate 945 29.731 9.8 7.8 55.3 WDI Infant Mortality Rate 945 59.001 24.237 11.8 138.1 WDI Under-5 Mortality Rate 945 90.857 42.062 13.7 224.9 WDI Maternal Mortality Rate 810 558.651 327.58 53 2480 WDI Public Health Financing 900 5.309 2.312 1.264 20.413 WDI Out-of-pocket Health Exp. 900 69.529 88.604 2.53 674.815 WDI Financial Develop. 945 0.137 0.109 0 0.643 IMF Fin. Inst. Dev. 945 0.216 0.136 0 0.731 IMF Fin. Market Dev. 945 0.052 0.097 0 0.535 IMF Fin. Inst.-depth 945 0.112 0.168 0 0.878 IMF Fin. Inst.-access 945 0.103 0.148 0 0.9 IMF Fin. Inst.-efficiency 945 0.48 0.141 0 0.793 IMF Fin. Markets-depth 945 0.063 0.118 0 0.789 IMF Fin. Markets-access 945 0.059 0.155 0 0.915 IMF Fin. Markets-efficiency 945 0.031 0.117 0 0.992 IMF GDP Per Capita 935 4459.969 5474.964 420.272 33261.871 IMF Gross Primary Enrollment 796 100.589 21.469 32.356 149.316 IMF Infrastructure 936 62.126 16.623 18.085 99.867 IMF Source: Author’s computations using IMF and World Bank Data Over the study period, life expectancy at birth averaged 58.63 with a standard deviation of 6.662 as show in Table 1 . This is woefully below the world average of 75 pointing to the poor state of health in the sub-region. Table 1 also show that maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, infant mortality, and under-5 mortality recorded mean values of 558.651, 29.731, 59.001, and 90.857 respectively, with standard deviations of 327.58, 9.8, 24.237, and 42.062 respectively. These statistics are all above world averages showing the poor state of healthcare in the Sub-Saharan African region. Public health financing and out-of-pocket expenditure on health by households averaged 5.309% of GDP and $ 69.53 per capita respectively with standard deviations of 2.312% of GDP and $ 88.60 per capita respectively. Table 1 also shows that overall financial development records a mean of 0.137 with a standard deviation of 0.109. Financial institutions development, financial institutions depth, financial institutions access, and financial institutions efficiency averaged below one (1) as shown in Table 1 . Similar to the financial institution measures, financial markets development, financial markets depth, financial markets access, and financial markets efficiency all record averages of less than one (1). The statistics portray a sorry state of the financial sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. To check for possible multicollinearity, we estimate pairwise correlations among the explanatory variable. The correlation coefficients among the explanatory variables are presented in Table 2 . Table 2 Pairwise correlations (Explanatory Variables) Variables (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (1) Fin. Dev. 1.000 (2) Fin. depth 0.73*** 1.000 (3) Fin. access 0.58*** 0.33*** 1.000 (4) Fin. efficiency 0.67*** 0.38*** 0.23*** 1.000 (5) Pub. Health Exp. 0.23*** 0.18*** 0.02 0.22*** 1.000 (6) Out-of-pocket Exp 0.34*** 0.25*** 0.23*** 0.16*** -0.09*** 1.000 (7) GDP Per Capita 0.62*** 0.37*** 0.39*** 0.31*** -0.22*** 0.75*** 1.000 (8) Infrastructure 0.53*** 0.37*** 0.30*** 0.25*** 0.09*** 0.53*** 0.66*** 1.000 (9) Education 0.19*** 0.09** 0.05 0.11*** 0.25*** -0.04 0.17*** 0.22*** 1.000 Source: authors’ computations, *** p < 0.01, ** p < 0.05, * p < 0.1 The results in Table 2 show that the financial development measures (overall financial development, financial access, financial efficiency, and financial depth) are highly correlated and among themselves. This may pose multicollinearity problems when included in one model. We therefore estimate four separate regressions for each measure of financial development for each dependent variable. Wo check for the stationarity of the variables, we perform the Im-Pesaran-Shin unit root test with intercept and trend. The results are presented in Table 3 . Table 3 Im-Pesaran-Shin (IPS) Unit Root test (with Intercept and trend) Variable Levels First Difference Decision Statistic p-value Statistic p-value Financial Access -0.804 0.211 -6.726 0.000 I (1) Financial Depth 1.535 0.938 -7.1125 0.000 I (1) Financial Efficiency -3.335 0.000 Stationary at Levels I (0) Financial Development -1.975 0.024 Stationary at Levels I (0) Child Mortality -5.909 0.000 Stationary at Levels I (0) Maternal Mortality Rate -1.704 0.044 Stationary at Levels I (0) Life Expectancy at Birth -3.827 0.000 Stationary at Levels I (0) GDP Per Capita 2.862 0.998 -5.955 0.000 I (1) Infrastructure -47.753 0.000 Stationary at Levels I (0) Gross Primary Enrolment 1.789 0.963 -2.885 0.002 I (1) Source: Computed by Authors Financial efficiency, financial development, child mortality, maternal mortality, life expectancy, and infrastructure are all stationary at levels as shown in Table 3 . In Table 3 , it is further shown that financial access, financial depth, GDP per capita, and gross primary enrolment are stationary at first difference. 4.2 Discussion of Findings This section presents and discusses the results and major findings of this paper. We present the results in three tables analysing the effect of the independent variables on child mortality (Table 4 ), maternal mortality (Table 5 ), and life expectancy (Table 6 ). Table 4 Financial Development and Child Mortality (1) (2) (3) (4) Child Mortality (lag) 1.056*** 1.061*** 1.046*** 1.069*** (0.023) (0.018) (0.025) (0.029) Public Health Financing 0.047 -0.039*** -0.04** -0.052** (0.029) (0.013) (0.015) (0.022) Out-of-pocket Expenditure 0.027** 0.017** -0.01 -0.011 (0.013) (0.008) (0.012) (0.013) Financial Development 0.001 (0.545) Fin. Dev × Public Health Financing -0.156 (0.166) Fin. Dev × Out-of-pocket Expenditure -0.104** (0.051) Financial Depth -0.096** (0.039) Financial Depth × Public Health Financing 0.011 (0.011) Financial Depth × Out-of-pocket Expenditure -0.018** (0.007) Financial Access -0.069** (0.032) Financial Access × Public Health Financing -0.034** (0.016) Financial Access ×Out-of-pocket Expenditure 0.004 (0.004) Financial Efficiency -0.233 (0.15) Financial Efficiency × Public Health Financing 0.031* (0.018) Financial Efficiency × Out-of-pocket Expenditure 0.037 (0.033) GDP Per Capita 0.051*** 0.068*** 0.052** 0.083*** (0.018) (0.015) (0.024) (0.025) Infrastructure -0.004 0.012 -0.001 0.019 (0.031) (0.028) (0.034) (0.04) Education 0.094** 0.104*** 0.086* 0.104* (0.044) (0.038) (0.048) (0.058) Intercept -0.868** -1.126*** -0.895** -1.318** (0.369) (0.308) (0.431) (0.511) Observations 684 684 684 684 Instruments 27 27 27 27 Countries 45 45 45 45 AR (1) 0.007 0.009 0.013 0.028 AR (2) .089 0.066 0.087 0.122 Hansen 0.562 0.595 0.580 0.704 Source: authors’ computations, Corrected standard errors are in parentheses, *** p < .01, ** p < .05, * p < .1 Table 4 shows that overall financial development and financial efficiency record insignificant coefficients suggesting that overall financial development and financial efficiency do not significantly affect child mortality in SSA. Financial depth and financial access record significant negative coefficients suggesting that improvement in financial depth and financial access reduce child mortality in SSA. Consistent with existing literature, the results in able 4 further show that public health financing has a significant and negative effect on child mortality in SSA. This implies that increased public spending on education reduces child mortality. Out-of-pocket health expenditure by households however show a significant positive effect on child mortality. On the transmission channels, the results show that public health financing moderates the nexus between financial access and child mortality since the coefficient of the interaction between financial access and public health financing is negative and significant. This shows that financial access is more effective in reducing child mortality in countries where government spends more on healthcare. However, the interaction of public health financing with overall financial development, financial depth, and financial efficiency are all not significant in explaining child mortality. The coefficients of the interaction terms of out-of-pocket health expenditure by households with overall financial development and financial depth are negative and significant at the 5% level. This suggest that overall financial development and financial depth are more effective in explaining child mortality when out-of-pocket expenditure is high. Table 5 Financial Development and Maternal Mortality Rate (1) (2) (3) (4) Maternal Mortality (lag) 1.117*** 1.091*** 1.115*** 1.107*** (0.03) (0.021) (0.046) (0.045) Public Health Financing -0.072** -0.015 0.022 -0.042* (0.03) (0.011) (0.023) (0.025) Out-of-pocket Expenditure -0.048* -0.013 -0.03* -0.018 (0.027) (0.009) (0.016) (0.015) Financial Development 0.316 (0.746) Fin. Dev × Public Health Financing -0.532** (0.217) Fin. Dev × Out-of-pocket Expenditure 0.205* (0.105) Financial Depth -0.119** (0.054) Financial Depth × Public Health Financing -0.001 (0.018) Financial Depth × Out-of-pocket Expenditure -0.029*** (0.009) Financial Access -0.064 (0.052) Financial Access × Public Health Financing 0.01 (0.028) Financial Access ×Out-of-pocket Expenditure 0.012 (0.01) Financial Efficiency -0.373** (0.183) Financial Efficiency × Public Health Financing 0.027 (0.023) Financial Efficiency × Out-of-pocket Expenditure -0.07** (0.031) GDP Per Capita 0.049* -0.042*** -0.057* 0.062 (0.025) (0.013) (0.032) (0.039) Infrastructure 0.074* -0.075** 0.114* -0.095 (0.039) (0.033) (0.059) (0.059) Education -0.022** 0.032 -0.01 -0.009 (.011) (.026) (.042) (.041) Intercept -1.503*** -1.353*** -1.615** -1.532** (0.443) (0.347) (0.682) (0.752) Observations 624 624 624 624 Year Dummies Yes Yes Yes Yes Instruments 25 25 25 25 Countries 45 45 45 45 AR (1) 0.051 0.046 0.000 0.001 AR (2) 0.294 0.311 0.085 0.073 Hansen 0.313 0.310 0.304 0.757 Source: authors’ computations, corrected standard errors are in parentheses, *** p < .01, ** p < .05, * p < .1 Consistent with our expectations and based on the human capital theory, the results in Table 5 shows that public health financing has a negative and significant effect on child mortality in SSA. This shows that improvement in public financing of healthcare reduces child mortality in SSA. Out-of-pocket health expenditure by households, however, records insignificant coefficient on maternal mortality. Table 5 further shows that overall financial development and financial access record insignificant coefficients suggesting that overall financial development and financial efficiency do not significantly affect child mortality in SSA. Financial depth and financial efficiency, however, record significant negative coefficients, indicating that improvements in financial depth and financial efficiency contribute to reduction in maternal mortality in SSA. The coefficient of the interaction with public health financing with overall financial sector development is negative and significant at 5% indicating that the benefits of financial development is more when public health spending increases. The interaction of public health financing with the components of financial development (financial depth, financial access and financial efficiency) are however not significant. This shows that public education financing significantly moderates the nexus between overall financial development and maternal mortality, but its components do not. The coefficients of the interaction of out-of-pocket health expenditure by households with overall financial development and financial access are not significant. However, the coefficients of the interaction of out-of-pocket expenditure with financial depth and financial efficiency are negative and significant at the 5% level. This suggest that financial depth and financial efficiency are more effective in explaining maternal mortality when out-of-pocket expenditure is high. Table 6 Financial Development and Life Expectancy at Birth (1) (2) (3) (4) Life Expectancy at Birth (lag) 1.011*** 1.014*** 1.016*** 1.012*** (0.01) (0.009) (0.011) (0.01) Public Health Financing 0.004** 0.005*** 0.004** 0.004** (0.002) (0.002) (0.002) (0.002) Out-of-pocket Expenditure -0.003* -0.004*** -0.003** -0.004*** (0.002) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) Financial Development 0.009** (0.004) Fin. Dev × Public Health Financing 0.003** (0.002) Fin. Dev × Out-of-pocket Expenditure -0.004 (0.006) Financial Depth 0.002 (0.005) Financial Depth × Public Health Financing -0.001 (0.001) Financial Depth × Out-of-pocket Expenditure 0 (0.001) Financial Access 0.004 (0.004) Financial Access × Public Health Financing 0.001 (0.002) Financial Access ×Out-of-pocket Expenditure 0.001*** (0) Financial Efficiency 0.003 (0.009) Financial Efficiency × Public Health Financing 0.000 (0.002) Financial Efficiency × Out-of-pocket Expenditure -0.001 (0.002) GDP Per Capita 0.003** 0.003*** 0.001 0.002** (.001) (.001) (.001) (.001) Infrastructure -0.009*** -0.009*** -0.009** -0.009** (0.003) (0.003) (0.003) (0.003) Education -0.002 -0.003 -0.001 -0.001 (0.002) (0.002) (0.003) (0.003) Intercept -0.009 -0.014 -0.014 -0.005 (0.031) (0.029) (0.034) (0.03) Observations 684 684 684 684 Year Dummies Yes Yes Yes Yes Instruments 27 27 27 27 Countries 45 45 45 45 AR (1) 0.019 0.020 0.020 0.019 AR (2) 0.334 0.341 0.341 0.320 Hansen 0.709 0.612 0.692 0.643 Source: authors’ computations, corrected standard errors are in parentheses, *** p < .01, ** p < .05, * p < .1 In Table 6 , the results show that public health financing has a positive and significant effect on life expectancy at birth, suggesting that enhanced public spending on health will improve access to healthcare at subsidised costs and improve the overall wellbeing of citizens thereby increasing life expectancy. The results further show that out-of-pocket health expenditure by households has a significant negative effect on life expectancy, showing that when the out-of-pocket expenditure is high, life expectancy reduces since households will struggle to pay for medical care. Overall financial development records a positive and significant effect on life expectancy suggesting that improvement in the overall financial sector will contribute to the wellbeing of people and hence enhance life expectancy. The components of financial development (financial depth, financial access, and financial efficiency) however, do not show direct significant effects in explaining changes in life expectancy. On the transmission channels, the results in Table 6 show that public health financing moderates the nexus between overall financial development and life expectancy but does not significantly moderate the nexus between life expectancy and the components of financial development (depth, access, and efficiency). Public health spending therefore transmits the benefits of overall financial development into improvement overall wellbeing reflected in longer life expectancy. The coefficient of the interaction between out-of-pocket expenditure and financial access is positive and significant at 5%. On the contrary, the coefficients of the interactions of out-of-pocket expenditure with all the other three measures of financial development are not significant. This shows that the benefits of financial access are much more realised in situations where out-of-pocket health expenditures are high. 5. Conclusions and Policy Implications This study examined the effects of four financial development measures on three measures of health outcomes in SSA. The study further analysed the moderation effect of public education financing and out-of-pocket expenditure by households on the nexus between financial development and health outcomes in SSA. The two-step system GMM estimation technique was adopted in analysing the relationships among the dependent and independent variables. The findings show that, financial development plays a significant role in improving health outcomes in SSA. The study further finds that enhanced public financing of health will reduce child mortality and maternal mortality, and also improve life expectancy in SSA. This paper also finds that, increases in the out-of-pocket expenditure worsens health outcomes in SSA. The interaction of public health financing with measures of financial development largely improves child mortality, maternal mortality and life expectancy in SSA. Finally, the study finds that the benefits of financial development are more pronounced when out-of-pocket expenditure on health is huge. We therefore recommend implementing policies that are geared towards improving financial sector development in order to enhance health outcomes in SSA. Sub-Saharan African governments must also enhance health financing in order to fully exploit the benefits of financial sector development. Governments must also work towards lowering the out-of-pocket health expenditure by households in order to improve general wellbeing of citizens and save lives. This study, like many studies, is not free from limitations. The current study fails to analyse the role of institutional quality in the nexus between financial development, public health financing, and health outcomes. As a recommendation, future studies could explore the role played by institutional quality in the nexus between financial development and health outcomes. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable Consent for publication Not applicable Availability of data and materials The data use in the study were collected from the World Development Indicators (WDI, 2021) of the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial development index database. These data are freely and publicly available at: https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators# https://data.imf.org/?sk=f8032e80-b36c-43b1-ac26-493c5b1cd33b Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interest. Funding The researchers received no funding from any source. Authors' contributions Conceptualization, A.M. and G. A.; methodology, A. M. and G. M.; formal analysis, A. M. and A. A..; all authors took part in writing, reviewing and editing the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Acknowledgements Not applicable References Chireshe J, Ocran MK. Financial development and health outcomes in sub-Saharan African countries. J Developing Areas. 2020;54(3). United Nations. Millennium Development Goals report. un .org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/backgrounders/MDG 2015 PR Bg SSA.pdf; 2015. UNICEF. Maternal mortality rates. Maternal mortality rates and statistics. - UNICEF DATA; 2021. WHO. Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020. Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020: estimates by WHO. UNICEF, UNFPA: World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division; 2023. WHO. World Health Organization-Newborn Mortality. Newborn mortality (who.int); 2023. WHO. Sub-Saharan Africa: WHO statistical profile. https://www.who.int/gho/health_financing/statistics_sub-saharan_africa.pdf?ua=1 ; 2021. WHO. 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Financial development and health capital accumulation (Doctoral dissertation); 2018. Grossman L. Condensation in the primitive solar nebula. Geochim Cosmochim Acta. 1972;36(5):597–619. Kiross GT, Chojenta C, Barker D, Loxton D. The effects of health expenditure on infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from panel data analysis. Health Econ Rev. 2020;10:1–9. Rewilak J. Financial development and poverty alleviation (Doctoral dissertation, University of Leicester); 2014. Schwab K, Roubini N, Bilodeau J. The financial development report. World Economic Forum2008. Cavallo E, Scartascini C. Interest groups and government capabilities matter for financial development. VoxEU org. 2012;12. King RG, Levine R. Financial intermediation and economic development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1993 May. p. 20. Levine R, Loayza N, Beck T. Financial intermediation and growth: Causality and causes. J Monet Econ. 2000;46(1):31–77. Ibrahim M, Alagidede P. 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Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe importance of health cannot be stressed enough given the fact that, it precedes all human activities. The socioeconomic development of a nation is highly dependent on the wellbeing of its citizens. Investments in health is therefore non-negotiable as evidenced in the findings of Chireshe and Ocran [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. It is therefore not surprising that health features prominently in multilateral development programmes such as the sustainable development goals (SDG3) and earlier the millennium development goals (MDG4, MDG5, MDG6).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuality of health care in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has improved marginally since the adoption of the millennium development goals [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. However, progress is still substantially below the expectations of the people. Despite the numerous efforts to improve the health of the people in the region, health outcomes remain poor compared to the rest of the world. Maternal and child health is still a significant public health concern in SSA. In 2017 for instance, the region recorded the highest maternal mortality ratio in the world, with about 533 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. In 2020 alone, SSA region\u0026rsquo;s 202,000 maternal deaths represented 70% of all maternal deaths globally [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. The under-five mortality rate of 76 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019 in SSA was the highest in the world [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. WHO [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e] also reports that an estimated 1 out 13 children in the SSA sub-region die before their fifth birthday compared to 1 out 199 in high-income countries. WHO [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e] further reports that the region has the highest neonatal mortality rate globally, with 27 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 3 deaths per 1,000 live 5births in high-income countries.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe poor state of health in SSA is due mainly to the low levels of investment in the sector. Access to healthcare is limited in the region, with only 16% of the population having access to basic healthcare services in 2019 [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated existing health challenges in the region, with limited resources and health systems overwhelmed by the pandemic [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. According to WHO, in 2020, the sub-Saharan Africa region accounted for 25% of the global disease burden, but only had 3% of the world's health workforce [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. SSA\u0026rsquo;s low level of investment in the health sector stems from inadequate resources to fund investments in the health sector. WHO reports [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e] show that, in 2021, the average healthcare expenditure in SSA is a meagre \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e186 per capita, compared to \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e3,840 in high-income countries. The Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) reports show that health funding is heavily dependent on external aid in many SSA countries. Aid, however, can be unpredictable and depends heavily on changes in donor priorities [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. This reliance on external funding can lead to instability and a lack of sustainable investment in health systems. It also limits the ability of the sub-region to provide sufficient healthcare services in order to address the growing disease burden. The allocation of health funding is often skewed towards curative services rather than preventative services, which can have long-term benefits for population health. Another challenge in health financing in SSA is the application of funds. Only about 2% of total health spending is allocated to prevention and public health programs [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. This lack of investment in preventative measures can lead to the escalation of preventable diseases and higher healthcare costs in the long term. There is the need therefore, to explore avenues through which domestic revenue mobilisation can be enhanced in order to provide adequate and sustainable funding to healthcare in SSA.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial development could be an avenue through which health investment in healthcare could improve as it broadens the scope of opportunities available for individuals, businesses, and government to raise funds for healthcare investments [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. This can lead to better access to healthcare services, which can in turn reduce morbidity and mortality rates and improve overall health outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. Additionally, developed financial markets promote risk pooling, thereby reducing the burden of cost of healthcare on households and individuals [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. Health insurance and social health protection programs can provide a safety net for individuals and households facing high healthcare costs [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough a number of efforts have been made, including the pioneering work of Claessens and Feijin [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e] to empirically analyse the nexus between financial development and health outcomes, some gaps still remain. In the sub \u0026ndash; Saharan context for instance, evidence on the nexus between financial development and health outcomes is scanty and limited to the work of Chireshe and Ocran [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, empirical research on the nexus between financial development and health outcomes mostly rely on financial depth and in a few instances financial access using single dimension measures. However, the use of unidimensional measures of financial development come with limitations [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Researchers have voiced legitimate concerns about the use of single variable proxies for financial development given that it is a multifaceted concept [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR14 CR15 CR16 CR17 CR18 CR19 CR20\" citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. Svirydzenka [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e] noted that access and efficiency are equally important in assessing the quality of financial systems. If financial institutions and markets are inefficient, financial development's contribution to economic progress would be restricted even if a financial system is sufficiently large and can provide broad access to businesses and individuals [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Evidence on the effects of the decomposed dimensions of financial development on health outcomes are however missing.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVia a number of routes, including income, education, credit access, infrastructure, and risk management, financial development improves health outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. Effective private and public mobilization of funds to finance healthcare is enhanced in a more developed and competitive financial system. It is argued that the benefits of financial development are translated into improvement in socio-economic wellbeing through public spending [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. However, the literature fails to examine the interaction effect of public health financing and financial development on health outcomes. Additionally, the disastrous impact of out-of-pocket health spending by households is mitigated or minimised by improved financial sector.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis paper is therefore motivated by the need to fill these obvious gaps and contribute to policy formulation by:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eanalysing the effect of multi-dimensional measures of financial development on health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eexamining the interaction effect of public health financing and financial development measures on health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eanalysing the interaction effect of out-of-pocket health expenditure and financial development on health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Literature Review","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis section discusses the empirical findings on the nexus between financial development and health outcomes. Also presented here is the theoretical framework on which the study hinges. The theoretical literature and framework are presented in section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2.1\u003c/span\u003e whiles the empirical literature is presented in section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2.2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Theoretical Literature\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1.1 The Human Capital Theory\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the theory of human capital, expenditures on services such as education, healthcare, and on-the-job training constitute investments in people that yield long-term benefits for both individuals and society as a whole [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR26\" citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. Expenditure by government, firms, and households on health could significantly improve health outcomes such as mortality, morbidity and overall wellbeing [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e]. However, the ability of these economic agents to spend depends on their abilities to raise funds for such investments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne strategy for increasing people's opportunities is improving financial sector development, which gives them competitive options for acquiring health insurance as well as opportunities to earn income [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. The government receives more tax money as a result of increased income for both individuals and corporations due to financial sector development. Bhatta [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e] presents the theoretical linkages between health outcomes and financial development in line with the approach of Grossman [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e] who argues that health outcomes is a function of individual inputs. Bhatta [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e] identified financial sector development, together with health infrastructure and government efforts, as the input variables in the determination of medical care supply. The financial system influences the availability of medical care through allocating funds for research and development, funding health education, building the infrastructure for health care, and lowering the cost of health insurance so that a larger segment of the population can afford it [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. Bhatta [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e] goes on to say that the price of medical care, people's health status, and the interest rate on loans are the three input variables for demand for medical care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to Claessens and Feijin [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e], households may now use credit and insurance products to help subsidize their investment in healthcare as a result of financial sector development. Economic growth creates opportunities that are indirectly created by financial development. As a result, more money is made, and individuals are better able to spend money on their health. When the economy expands, the government also receives more revenue from taxes, which allows it to spend more on public infrastructure for health care and give subsidies to residents.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo summarise, the human capital theory establishes that expenditure on health leads to improvement in health outcomes such as life expectancy at birth, maternal mortality rate, disease prevalence, and child mortality rate. Financial development improves incomes of both individuals and government through economic growth, making health spending possible. Financial development also makes borrowing easy for households, makes insurance accessible to households, and facilitates access to healthcare. Theoretically, financial development influences health outcomes both directly (by making insurance more accessible and relaxing borrowing requirements) and indirectly (by increasing household and governmental earnings as a result of economic growth).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Empirical Literature\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmpirical literature on the nexus between financial development and health outcome is scanty. Researchers have paid much more attention to the effect of financial development on economic growth and the effect of education expenditures on health outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. None the less, a few studies have been done on the topic. In Sub-Sharan Africa, the work of Chireshe and Ocran [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e] remain prominent. They however failed to examine the effect of financial efficiency on health outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing information from 54 economies, Claessens and Feijen [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e] conducted a ground-breaking analysis on the effect of financial development on health outcomes. They discovered a significant positive relationship between life expectancy and private credit to GDP. Also, they discovered a link between private credit, GDP, and the death rate for children under the age of five. In a different study, Claessens and Feijen [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e] used data from a sample of 49 countries to examine the effect of financial development on malnutrition. They employed panel regression estimation techniques, cross-country OLS, and instrumental variables. The findings showed that improving the financial sector lowers the rate of malnutrition. Both studies, however, made use of single dimensional measures of financial development and do not also focus on SSA. Claessens and Feijen [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e] also fail to incorporate the separate effects of financial access, financial depth, and financial efficiency in their analyses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBhatta [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e] looks at the relationship between financial development and health outcomes in the setting of low-income Asian and high-income OECD nations. According to the study's findings, financial development helps to improve health outcomes including longer life expectancies and decreased infant mortality. The financial development factors have larger correlations with health outcomes for developing nations than for developed nations, indicating that financial development is more important in producing better health outcomes in developing nations than in developed nations. However, Bhatta's analysis does not examine the routes via which financial growth might affect health outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn South Africa, the direction of causation between financial development and human capital was also explored by Hakeem and Oluitan [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. The analysis discovered that there was only a marginal correlation between financial development and all proxies for human capital, with the exception of life expectancy and secondary school enrolment. Similar to the majority of research in the literature, the impacts of the financial development's component parts broken down have not been discussed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy examining the relationship between financial development and health outcomes using micro and macro data sets, Rewilak [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e] added to the nascent research on the topic. The study demonstrated a negative correlation between infant and child mortality rates and deep financial systems, as determined by bank deposits as a percentage of GDP.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlam et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e] use yearly data spanning the years 1972\u0026ndash;2013 to examine the contribution of financial development to the sharp increase in life expectancy in Bangladesh. They demonstrate that there is a long-run link between financial development and life expectancy in the context of globalization, income inequality, and economic growth by using cointegration and the ARDL bounds testing approach. The long-run elasticities show that globalization and financial development have a favourable impact on Bangladesh's life expectancy. Their study only used one financial development indicator and did not examine the effect of financial development components on health outcomes. The study differs from the current study in the sense that the findings are limited to Bangladesh and fails to capture cross country dynamics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations, Chireshe and Ocran [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e] investigated the impact of financial development on child health outcomes and life expectancy. They discovered that financial depth and access have a beneficial impact on health outcomes in SSA using the single proxies of financial access (number of TMS and commercial bank branches per 100 000 persons) and financial depth (Broad Money and bank loans to the private sector to GDP ratios). These conclusions were true regardless of the models used (random effect, fixed effect, and 2SLS). Yet instead of looking at the effects of financial efficiency and the overall development of the financial sector on health outcomes, they depend on unidimensional measurements of financial access and depth. Additionally, their study did not examine the transmission mechanism of financial development through public health financing on health outcomes. Health care spending, according to Chireshe et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e] and Rana et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e], is a crucial channel via which financial development affects health outcomes. Government is able to efficiently mobilise revenue in a better financial system. On the other hand, public spending enhances the financial sector performance, and it makes it more liquid. An interaction effect capturing this transmission is therefore necessary, particularly in the most deprived setting (Sub-Saharan Africa).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Methodology and Data","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis section presents the methodology of the study, which is in four phases. Firstly, this section presents the description of the main variables used. Secondly, we present the data and the sources of the data used in this study. In the final stage, we specify the empirical model and the estimation technique which helps us to estimate the linkages between the various measures of health outcomes and the various measures of financial development.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Variable Descriptions and Measurements\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1.1 Dependent Variables\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth outcomes is the dependent (outcome) variable of this study. Three (3) measures of health outcomes are used in this study, maternal mortality, child mortality, and life expectancy at birth. We compute an index for child mortality using under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births), neonatal mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) and infant mortality rate (per, 1,000 live births). We use maternal mortality and life expectancy at birth (years) as a stand-alone additional measures of health outcomes. These variables are commonly used as measures of health outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1.2 Independent Variables\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eFinancial Development\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial development is the main independent variable of this study. Different measures have been used by different researchers. Financial development is defined as the set of elements, regulations, and institutions that contribute to successful financial intermediation and markets, as well as deep and broad access to funds and financial services [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e]. Researchers have often focused on single dimension measures of financial development such as the ratio of private credit to GDP, money supply, market capitalisation, and commercial bank branches [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR35 CR36\" citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e]. Using such measures, however, does not prove sufficient as various aspects of finance capture different aspects of financial performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. A financial development index most appropriately captures various aspects of financial development [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. This study employs the IMF broad \u0026ndash;based measure of financial development first proposed by Sahay et al [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e] and computed by Svirydzenka [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. These measures of financial development capture various aspects of financial development from financial markets to financial institutions across depth, access, and efficiency. In line with Musah and Aawaar [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e], this study extends the IMF data by computing broad-based indices for financial depth, financial access, and financial efficiency using the computed variables of access, depth, and efficiency for both financial markets and financial institutions from the IMF database. The study constructs an index for financial depth using financial institutions depth and financial markets depth, financial access using access to financial institutions and access to financial markets, and financial efficiency using financial institutions efficiency and financial markets efficiency.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePublic Health Expenditure\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDifferent researchers use different measures for public health financing (PHF) in the literature. In this study, public health financing is measured as government expenditure on health expressed as percentage of GDP. This measure more appropriately captures total health financing by government.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eOut-of-pocket Health Expenditure\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis represents household healthcare spending. Households directly pay for healthcare through out-of-pocket costs. We utilize the WDI of the World Bank's out-of-pocket health spending per capita in international dollars at purchasing power parity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1.3 Control Variables\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis paper includes basic infrastructure measured as the proportion of the population who have access to basic water services, real GDP per capita, and education level measured as gross enrolment ratio in primary education as control variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn line with the human capital theory and the Claessens and Feijin [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e] model, this paper analyses the relationships among the study variables using the framework presented in Fig.\u0026nbsp;1.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSource: Figure by authors\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Data and Sources\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study collects data for the period 2000 to 2020 for forty-five (45) sub-Saharan African countries. The choice of this period is based purely on data availability on the study variables, particularly on the health outcomes for the sub-Saharan African context. Data on health outcomes (maternal mortality rate, under-five mortality, neo-natal mortality, life expectancy at birth, and public health financing \u0026ndash; measured as general government health expenditure expressed as a percentage of GDP) are downloaded from Health Statistics (World Development Indicators, WDI) of the World Bank. Financial development data is collected from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF broad-based financial development data computed by Svirydzenka [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e] first developed by Sahay et al [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e] is used. Data on the control variables are also collected from the World Development Indicators of the World Bank.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Empirical Model and Estimation Technique\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn line with the human capital theory and previous works [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e], this study models health outcomes as a function of financial development, public health financing, out-of-pocket expenditure, and the control variables.\u003cdiv id=\"Equa\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equa\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:{\\text{H}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}=\\text{f}\\left({\\text{F}\\text{D}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}},{\\:\\text{P}\\text{H}\\text{F}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}},{\\text{O}\\text{O}\\text{P}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}},\\:{\\:\\text{G}\\text{D}\\text{P}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}},\\:{\\text{I}\\text{N}\\text{F}\\text{R}\\text{A}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}},{\\text{E}\\text{D}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}\\right)\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\text{e}\\text{q}.\\left(1\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhere\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\:H\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is health outcomes measured in three (3) ways as described in section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3.1.1\u003c/span\u003e of this thesis, \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:PHF\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is public health financing, \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:FD\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is financial development measured in four ways as described in section 3.1.2, \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:OOP\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is out-of-pocket health expenditure by households, \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:GDP\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is gross domestic product per capita, INFRA is infrastructure, and ED is education. We then transform the model in \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:eq.\\:\\left(1\\right)\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e taking the natural log of the variables in order to linearize the relationships among the study variables in the model and normalise the data [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e].\u003cdiv id=\"Equb\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equb\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:\\text{ln}{\\text{H}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}={{\\delta\\:}}_{0}+{{{\\delta\\:}}_{1}\\text{H}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}-1}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{2}\\text{ln}{\\text{F}\\text{D}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{3}\\text{ln}{\\:\\text{P}\\text{H}\\text{F}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{4}{\\text{ln}\\text{O}\\text{O}\\text{P}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{5}\\text{ln}{\\:\\text{G}\\text{D}\\text{P}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{6}{\\text{ln}\\text{I}\\text{N}\\text{F}\\text{R}\\text{A}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{7}\\text{ln}{\\text{E}\\text{D}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\epsilon\\:}\\:}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\text{e}\\text{q}.\\left(2\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo capture the moderating roles of out-of-pocket expenditure and public health financing, we introduce interaction terms as shown in Eq.\u0026nbsp;(3).\u003cdiv id=\"Equc\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equc\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:\\text{ln}{\\text{H}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}={{\\delta\\:}}_{0}+{{{\\delta\\:}}_{1}\\text{H}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}-1}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{2}\\text{ln}{\\text{F}\\text{D}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{3}\\text{ln}{\\:\\text{P}\\text{H}\\text{F}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{4}\\left(\\text{ln}{\\text{F}\\text{D}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}\\times\\:\\text{ln}{\\:\\text{P}\\text{H}\\text{F}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}\\right)+{{\\delta\\:}}_{5}{\\text{ln}\\text{O}\\text{O}\\text{P}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{6}(\\text{ln}{\\text{F}\\text{D}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}\\times\\:{\\text{ln}\\text{O}\\text{O}\\text{P}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}})+\\:{{\\delta\\:}}_{7}\\text{ln}{\\:\\text{G}\\text{D}\\text{P}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{8}{\\text{ln}\\text{I}\\text{N}\\text{F}\\text{R}\\text{A}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\delta\\:}}_{9}\\text{ln}{\\text{E}\\text{D}}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}+{{\\epsilon\\:}\\:}_{\\text{i}\\text{t}}\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\:\\text{e}\\text{q}.\\left(3\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo address possible endogeneity issues due to the dynamic nature of the dependent variables, this paper estimates Eq.\u0026nbsp;(3) using the Blundell and Bond's [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e] Two-Step System Generalized Method of Moment Estimator (two-step system GMM). The paper employs the two-step estimator in conjunction with Windmeijer's [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e] robust corrected standard errors. There are various reasons why the two-step SGMM was adopted. Firstly, the system GMM methodology enables us to treat the dependent variable as a dynamic process, accounting for the dependent variable's previous level and the possibility for the effect of past health outcomes on present health outcomes. Second, the usage of the SGMM is more suitable since there are more countries (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45) than there are periods (T\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;21). Finally, because the panel is dynamic, the GMM method enables us to adjust for endogeneity and potential nickel bias. While health outcomes studies are prone to endogeneity problems [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e] and it might be challenging to obtain reliable external instruments, depending on a strategy that utilizes internal instruments can help allay endogeneity worries. We use the Arellano and Bond test for second-order serial correlation in the error term and the Sargan/Hansen test of overidentification limits to assess the consistency of estimates. Roodman [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e] claims that the Sargan and Hansen tests evaluate sample analogues of the estimation's moment conditions in order to assess the validity of the instruments. Due to the unreliability of study results from very prolific instruments, the number of instruments employed should not exceed the number of groups. Last but not least, the error term could be serially correlated in the first order but not in the second order since that might indicate that the model has been mis-specified.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. Results and Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis section presents and discusses the regression results on the relationship among the variables, health outcomes, financial development, public health financing, out-of-pocket health expenditure and the control variables. The descriptive statistics, pairwise correlation, and the GMM estimations are presented and discussed in this section. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec14\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4.1\u003c/span\u003e presents and discusses the descriptive statistics, the pairwise correlations, and the unit root test results. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec15\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4.2\u003c/span\u003e presents and discusses the GMM estimation results for the relationships among the study variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 Descriptive Statistics\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis section presents discusses the summary statistics (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e), the correlation matrix of the explanatory variables (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e), and the unit root test results for the study variables (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive Statistics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStd. Dev.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMin\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMax\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSource\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLife Expectancy at Birth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.662\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.125\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.237\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWDI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNeonatal Mortality Rate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.731\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWDI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfant Mortality Rate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.237\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e138.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWDI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnder-5 Mortality Rate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.857\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.062\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e224.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWDI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal Mortality Rate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e810\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e558.651\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e327.58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2480\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWDI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublic Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.309\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.312\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.264\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.413\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWDI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOut-of-pocket Health Exp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69.529\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.604\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e674.815\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWDI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Develop.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.137\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.109\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.643\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Inst. Dev.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.216\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.136\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.731\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Market Dev.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.052\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.097\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.535\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Inst.-depth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.112\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.168\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.878\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Inst.-access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.103\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.148\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Inst.-efficiency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.141\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.793\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Markets-depth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.063\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.118\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.789\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Markets-access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.059\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.155\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.915\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Markets-efficiency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.117\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.992\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGDP Per Capita\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e935\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4459.969\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5474.964\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e420.272\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33261.871\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGross Primary Enrollment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e796\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.589\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.469\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.356\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e149.316\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfrastructure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e936\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62.126\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.623\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.085\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e99.867\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIMF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eSource: Author\u0026rsquo;s computations using IMF and World Bank Data\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOver the study period, life expectancy at birth averaged 58.63 with a standard deviation of 6.662 as show in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. This is woefully below the world average of 75 pointing to the poor state of health in the sub-region. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e also show that maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, infant mortality, and under-5 mortality recorded mean values of 558.651, 29.731, 59.001, and 90.857 respectively, with standard deviations of 327.58, 9.8, 24.237, and 42.062 respectively. These statistics are all above world averages showing the poor state of healthcare in the Sub-Saharan African region. Public health financing and out-of-pocket expenditure on health by households averaged 5.309% of GDP and \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e69.53 per capita respectively with standard deviations of 2.312% of GDP and \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e88.60 per capita respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e also shows that overall financial development records a mean of 0.137 with a standard deviation of 0.109. Financial institutions development, financial institutions depth, financial institutions access, and financial institutions efficiency averaged below one (1) as shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. Similar to the financial institution measures, financial markets development, financial markets depth, financial markets access, and financial markets efficiency all record averages of less than one (1). The statistics portray a sorry state of the financial sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo check for possible multicollinearity, we estimate pairwise correlations among the explanatory variable. The correlation coefficients among the explanatory variables are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePairwise correlations (Explanatory Variables)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"10\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(8)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(9)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1) Fin. Dev.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2) Fin. depth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.73***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3) Fin. access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.58***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.33***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4) Fin. efficiency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.67***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.38***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.23***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(5) Pub. Health Exp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.23***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.18***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.22***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(6) Out-of-pocket Exp\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.34***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.25***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.23***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.16***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.09***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(7) GDP Per Capita\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.62***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.37***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.39***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.31***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.22***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.75***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(8) Infrastructure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.53***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.37***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.30***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.25***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.09***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.53***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.66***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(9) Education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.19***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.09**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.11***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.25***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.17***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.22***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"10\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSource: authors\u0026rsquo; computations, *** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, ** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, * p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.1\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e show that the financial development measures (overall financial development, financial access, financial efficiency, and financial depth) are highly correlated and among themselves. This may pose multicollinearity problems when included in one model. We therefore estimate four separate regressions for each measure of financial development for each dependent variable.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWo check for the stationarity of the variables, we perform the Im-Pesaran-Shin unit root test with intercept and trend. The results are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIm-Pesaran-Shin (IPS) Unit Root test (with Intercept and trend)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLevels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst Difference\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStatistic\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStatistic\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.804\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.211\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-6.726\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.535\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.938\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-7.1125\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.335\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStationary at Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Development\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.975\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStationary at Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChild Mortality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-5.909\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStationary at Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal Mortality Rate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.704\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.044\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStationary at Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLife Expectancy at Birth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.827\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStationary at Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGDP Per Capita\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.862\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.998\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-5.955\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfrastructure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-47.753\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStationary at Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGross Primary Enrolment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.789\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.963\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-2.885\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eSource: Computed by Authors\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial efficiency, financial development, child mortality, maternal mortality, life expectancy, and infrastructure are all stationary at levels as shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. In Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, it is further shown that financial access, financial depth, GDP per capita, and gross primary enrolment are stationary at first difference.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2 Discussion of Findings\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis section presents and discusses the results and major findings of this paper. We present the results in three tables analysing the effect of the independent variables on child mortality (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e), maternal mortality (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e), and life expectancy (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Development and Child Mortality\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChild Mortality (lag)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.056***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.061***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.046***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.069***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.018)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.025)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.029)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublic Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.047\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.039***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.04**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.052**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.029)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.013)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.015)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.022)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOut-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.027**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.017**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.011\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.013)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.008)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.012)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.013)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Development\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.545)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Dev \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.156\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.166)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Dev \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.104**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.051)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.096**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.039)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.011\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.011)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.018**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.007)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.069**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.032)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.034**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.016)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access \u0026times;Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.004)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.233\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.031*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.018)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.037\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.033)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGDP Per Capita\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.051***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.068***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.052**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.083***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.018)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.015)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.024)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.025)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfrastructure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.031)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.028)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.034)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.04)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.094**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.104***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.086*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.104*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.044)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.038)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.048)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.058)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.868**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.126***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.895**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.318**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.369)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.308)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.431)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.511)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObservations\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e684\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e684\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e684\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e684\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInstruments\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCountries\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.013\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.028\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR (2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.089\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.066\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.087\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.122\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHansen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.562\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.595\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.580\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.704\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSource: authors\u0026rsquo; computations, Corrected standard errors are in parentheses, *** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01, ** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05, * p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.1\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e shows that overall financial development and financial efficiency record insignificant coefficients suggesting that overall financial development and financial efficiency do not significantly affect child mortality in SSA. Financial depth and financial access record significant negative coefficients suggesting that improvement in financial depth and financial access reduce child mortality in SSA. Consistent with existing literature, the results in able 4 further show that public health financing has a significant and negative effect on child mortality in SSA. This implies that increased public spending on education reduces child mortality. Out-of-pocket health expenditure by households however show a significant positive effect on child mortality.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the transmission channels, the results show that public health financing moderates the nexus between financial access and child mortality since the coefficient of the interaction between financial access and public health financing is negative and significant. This shows that financial access is more effective in reducing child mortality in countries where government spends more on healthcare. However, the interaction of public health financing with overall financial development, financial depth, and financial efficiency are all not significant in explaining child mortality. The coefficients of the interaction terms of out-of-pocket health expenditure by households with overall financial development and financial depth are negative and significant at the 5% level. This suggest that overall financial development and financial depth are more effective in explaining child mortality when out-of-pocket expenditure is high.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Development and Maternal Mortality Rate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal Mortality (lag)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.117***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.091***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.115***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.107***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.03)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.021)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.046)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.045)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublic Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.072**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.015\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.042*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.03)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.011)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.025)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOut-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.048*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.013\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.03*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.018\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.027)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.009)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.016)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.015)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Development\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.316\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.746)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Dev \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.532**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.217)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Dev \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.205*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.105)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.119**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.054)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.018)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.029***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.009)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.064\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.052)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.028)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access \u0026times;Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.01)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.373**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.183)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.027\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.07**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.031)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGDP Per Capita\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.049*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.042***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.057*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.062\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.025)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.013)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.032)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.039)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfrastructure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.074*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.075**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.114*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.095\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.039)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.033)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.059)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.059)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.022**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.032\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.009\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(.011)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(.026)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(.042)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(.041)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.503***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.353***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.615**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.532**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.443)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.347)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.682)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.752)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObservations\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e624\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e624\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e624\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e624\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYear Dummies\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInstruments\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCountries\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.051\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.046\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR (2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.294\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.311\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.085\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.073\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHansen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.313\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.310\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.304\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.757\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSource: authors\u0026rsquo; computations, corrected standard errors are in parentheses, *** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01, ** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05, * p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.1\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsistent with our expectations and based on the human capital theory, the results in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e shows that public health financing has a negative and significant effect on child mortality in SSA. This shows that improvement in public financing of healthcare reduces child mortality in SSA. Out-of-pocket health expenditure by households, however, records insignificant coefficient on maternal mortality. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e further shows that overall financial development and financial access record insignificant coefficients suggesting that overall financial development and financial efficiency do not significantly affect child mortality in SSA. Financial depth and financial efficiency, however, record significant negative coefficients, indicating that improvements in financial depth and financial efficiency contribute to reduction in maternal mortality in SSA.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe coefficient of the interaction with public health financing with overall financial sector development is negative and significant at 5% indicating that the benefits of financial development is more when public health spending increases. The interaction of public health financing with the components of financial development (financial depth, financial access and financial efficiency) are however not significant. This shows that public education financing significantly moderates the nexus between overall financial development and maternal mortality, but its components do not. The coefficients of the interaction of out-of-pocket health expenditure by households with overall financial development and financial access are not significant. However, the coefficients of the interaction of out-of-pocket expenditure with financial depth and financial efficiency are negative and significant at the 5% level. This suggest that financial depth and financial efficiency are more effective in explaining maternal mortality when out-of-pocket expenditure is high.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Development and Life Expectancy at Birth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLife Expectancy at Birth (lag)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.011***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.014***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.016***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.012***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.01)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.009)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.011)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.01)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublic Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.005***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOut-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.003*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.004***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.003**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.004***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Development\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.009**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.004)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Dev \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFin. Dev \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.006)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.005)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Depth \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.004)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Access \u0026times;Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.009)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency \u0026times; Public Health Financing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial Efficiency \u0026times; Out-of-pocket Expenditure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGDP Per Capita\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.002**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(.001)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfrastructure\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.009***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.009***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.009**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.009**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.003)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.003)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.003)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.003)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.002\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.002)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.003)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.003)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.009\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.005\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.031)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.029)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.034)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.03)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObservations\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e684\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e684\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e684\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e684\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYear Dummies\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInstruments\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCountries\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.020\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.020\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR (2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.334\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.341\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.341\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.320\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHansen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.709\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.612\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.692\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.643\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSource: authors\u0026rsquo; computations, corrected standard errors are in parentheses, *** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01, ** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05, * p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.1\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e, the results show that public health financing has a positive and significant effect on life expectancy at birth, suggesting that enhanced public spending on health will improve access to healthcare at subsidised costs and improve the overall wellbeing of citizens thereby increasing life expectancy. The results further show that out-of-pocket health expenditure by households has a significant negative effect on life expectancy, showing that when the out-of-pocket expenditure is high, life expectancy reduces since households will struggle to pay for medical care. Overall financial development records a positive and significant effect on life expectancy suggesting that improvement in the overall financial sector will contribute to the wellbeing of people and hence enhance life expectancy. The components of financial development (financial depth, financial access, and financial efficiency) however, do not show direct significant effects in explaining changes in life expectancy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the transmission channels, the results in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e show that public health financing moderates the nexus between overall financial development and life expectancy but does not significantly moderate the nexus between life expectancy and the components of financial development (depth, access, and efficiency). Public health spending therefore transmits the benefits of overall financial development into improvement overall wellbeing reflected in longer life expectancy. The coefficient of the interaction between out-of-pocket expenditure and financial access is positive and significant at 5%. On the contrary, the coefficients of the interactions of out-of-pocket expenditure with all the other three measures of financial development are not significant. This shows that the benefits of financial access are much more realised in situations where out-of-pocket health expenditures are high.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5. Conclusions and Policy Implications","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examined the effects of four financial development measures on three measures of health outcomes in SSA. The study further analysed the moderation effect of public education financing and out-of-pocket expenditure by households on the nexus between financial development and health outcomes in SSA. The two-step system GMM estimation technique was adopted in analysing the relationships among the dependent and independent variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings show that, financial development plays a significant role in improving health outcomes in SSA. The study further finds that enhanced public financing of health will reduce child mortality and maternal mortality, and also improve life expectancy in SSA. This paper also finds that, increases in the out-of-pocket expenditure worsens health outcomes in SSA. The interaction of public health financing with measures of financial development largely improves child mortality, maternal mortality and life expectancy in SSA. Finally, the study finds that the benefits of financial development are more pronounced when out-of-pocket expenditure on health is huge.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe therefore recommend implementing policies that are geared towards improving financial sector development in order to enhance health outcomes in SSA. Sub-Saharan African governments must also enhance health financing in order to fully exploit the benefits of financial sector development. Governments must also work towards lowering the out-of-pocket health expenditure by households in order to improve general wellbeing of citizens and save lives.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study, like many studies, is not free from limitations. The current study fails to analyse the role of institutional quality in the nexus between financial development, public health financing, and health outcomes. As a recommendation, future studies could explore the role played by institutional quality in the nexus between financial development and health outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data use in the study were collected from the World Development Indicators (WDI, 2021) of the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial development index database. These data are freely and publicly available at:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ehttps://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators#\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ehttps://data.imf.org/?sk=f8032e80-b36c-43b1-ac26-493c5b1cd33b\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no competing interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe researchers received no funding from any source.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026apos; contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConceptualization, A.M. \u0026nbsp;and G. A.; methodology, A. M. and G. M.; formal analysis, A. M. and A. A..; all authors took part in writing, reviewing and editing the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChireshe J, Ocran MK. Financial development and health outcomes in sub-Saharan African countries. J Developing Areas. 2020;54(3).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnited Nations. Millennium Development Goals report. un\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/backgrounders/MDG\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"http://.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/backgrounders/MDG\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e 2015 PR Bg SSA.pdf; 2015.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUNICEF. Maternal mortality rates. 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J Monet Econ. 2000;46(1):31\u0026ndash;77.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIbrahim M, Alagidede P. Effect of financial development on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. J Policy Model. 2018;40(6):1104\u0026ndash;25.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMuhammad Adnan Hye Q. Financial development index and economic growth: empirical evidence from India. J Risk Finance. 2011;12(2):98\u0026ndash;111.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChireshe J, Ocran MK. Financial development and health care expenditure in Sub Saharan African Countries. Cogent Econ Finance. 2020;8(1):1771878.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBlundell R, Bond S. Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models. J Econ. 1998;87(1):115\u0026ndash;43.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWindmeijer F. A finite sample correction for the variance of linear efficient two-step GMM estimators. J Econ. 2005;126(1):25\u0026ndash;51.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRoodman D. How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata. Stata J. 2009;9(1):86\u0026ndash;136.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Financial development, public health financing, out-of-pocket health expenditure, health outcomes, sub-Saharan Africa","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4784259/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4784259/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis paper examines the effect of financial development on health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study decomposes financial development into access, depth, and efficiency and test their separate effects on health outcomes. The paper also examines interaction effect of public health spending and financial development on health outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis paper is based on panel data for forty-five countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) collected from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the period 2000 to 2021. We adopt the 2-step system GMM as the estimation technique to examine the relationships among the variables.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings show that improvement in financial development measures improves health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The findings further show that, in SSA, higher out-of-pocket expenses lead to worsening health outcomes. The relationship between financial development and health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa is strongly moderated by public health financing and out-of-pocket medical expenses.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings imply that financial development, public health financing, and out-of-pocket health expenditure are critical when it comes to health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. To lower infant and maternal mortality rates and raise life expectancy, actions must be taken to strengthen the financial system and lower household out-of-pocket medical expenses whilst increasing public health financing. These findings guide health policy formulation for the improvement of health outcomes in SSA.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Financial Development, Public Health Financing, and Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-08-27 12:22:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4784259/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-04-25T14:59:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-04-15T21:27:03+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-04-13T13:56:41+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"40155190863018716127294716386994257126","date":"2025-04-03T06:11:38+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-04-03T00:19:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"177825409488490005447710820911767391737","date":"2025-04-01T13:13:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"224057951758444132020306719870170395601","date":"2025-04-01T10:44:46+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"95663258183153175832562631233015532250","date":"2025-03-24T13:53:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-11-09T22:14:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"213447212256304947409791995191218031949","date":"2024-11-09T20:17:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"83853976992836649047734079141654816400","date":"2024-11-06T16:56:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"107827524297011457295141587476087232527","date":"2024-11-06T16:16:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-10-24T18:51:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2024-07-26T11:45:16+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-07-26T01:27:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-07-26T01:26:13+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Public Health","date":"2024-07-22T20:26:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"debdc033-3ffa-46dd-ae56-6aa2c86e88e5","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 27th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-09-01T16:03:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4784259","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24404-6","journal":{"identity":"bmc-public-health","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Public Health"},"publishedOn":"2025-08-27 15:58:11","publishedOnDateReadable":"August 27th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-08-27 12:22:57","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12889-025-24404-6","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24404-6","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4784259","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4784259","identity":"rs-4784259","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}