Comparative Analysis Between Investment Levels in the Healthcare Sector in Western and Eastern Europe

Abstract

This study analyses the disparities in the levels of investment in healthcare between Western and Eastern Europe. In our analysis, the independent variable is the allocated healthcare budget, while the dependent variables include access to medical facilities, the number of hospitals per capita, and the affordability of healthcare services relative to minimum and median wages. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to derive the linear association of healthcare investment with these quality-of-life indicators. Following the above, multiple linear regressions were used to analyze the effect of healthcare investment on these variables. This is a time series analysis for the years 2000 to 2021. However, predictive modeling was done to estimate future trends from the presently observed trend of investment. Our findings contribute to the healthcare economics literature and provide policy intervention implications for optimizing healthcare investment planning. CZU: 330.322.14:614.2(4); JEL: H51, I15, O43