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Item Restricted The determinants of local government health expenditures in the provinces of the Philippines(2005-04-06) How, Joseph Gregory H.; Melendres, Carl Vincent A.; Tan, EditaMany functions were devolved to local government units with the passage of the 1991 Local Government Code, including the majority of health services. A number of problems faced by the decentralized health sector bring doubt to the efficiency gains from decentralization. This paper uses cross-sectional time-series regressions analyzing 2001 to 2003 data in studying how local government health expenditures are determined. It finds that local governments are sensitive to local health needs, as indicated by higher health spending in areas with poorer health status. Local governments with more financial resources are found to spend more on health care per capita. The management of more hospitals is another factor that leads to higher local government health spending. Substitution effects between DOH and local government health spending are observed, indicating that higher DOH spending leads to a reduction in the responsiveness of local governments to local health needs and responsibilities. The study also uses regressions to examine whether public health expenditures in 2001 affected health status in the following year. The regression results do not indicate that provinces with higher public health spending in 2001 enjoyed better health in the following year. This may mean that public health expenditures are ineffective. However, the possibility that it may take more than one year-for public health expenditures to lead to observable benefits should not be ignored.Item Restricted The determinants of the health status in the Philippines(1988-09) Buñag, Gonzalo C. III; Gatmaitan, Maria Elisa T.Item Restricted The determinants of the differences in the health status across regions over the years 1990, 1995 and 2000(2005-10) Ambrocio, Ma. Lair E.; Sioson, Valerie Ann A.Objective. This paper evaluates the differences in health status of the 16 regions in the Philippines and which determinants account for these differences using nationally representative data. Methods. The authors analyzed the regional data on health expenditures, average family income, literacy rate, employment rate, number of banks. private and public hospitals and establishments involved in the production and distribution of food and drugs and doctor density. Fixed effects and Random effects approach through a Generalized Least Squares Approach were conducted to examine the relationship between the different health status indicators and independent variables which includes components of health spending, socioeconomic status, measure of economic activity and demographics. This study covers the years 1990, 1995 and 2000. Results. Random effects regression reveals that 1) increase in health expenditures leads to a decrease in the fertility rate which can be attributed to the health programs of the government advocating population control On the other hand, literacy. employment and presence of banking institutions contributed to an increase in fertility rate. 2) Increases in average family income, literacy rate and number of banking institutions yield an increase in reported deaths and births. 3) Improvement in average family income, literacy rate, and the number of doctors per 10,000 population are found to reduce child and under-five mortality rates. The Fixed Effects regression reveals that an increase in the employment rate leads to an increase in infant mortality. The effects of average family income, literacy rate and doctor density have been consistent with the hypothesis. Conclusions. Increases in health expenditures, literacy rate and number of banking institutions are generally associated with a favorable health status measures such as the fertility rate. child mortality rate and under-five mortality rate. Determinants such as the employment rate and presence of public hospitals are negatively associated with the health status measure infant mortality rate thus suggesting the need for more efficient public hospitals and additional government support for infant care or the improvement of the education sector to produce more educated mothers in the future who are believed to be more knowledgeable of how to take care of their children.