The Relationship Between Economic Growth and Life Expectancy in South Africa

Abstract

Menzi Mhlanga

Life expectancy has significantly increased in most parts of the world. The global life expectancy has increased by more than six years between 2000 and 2019, from 66.8 years to 73.4 years. Improving life expectancy and overall health has become an essential goal for the United Nations and numerous national governments from both developed and developing countries. This study examined the impact of economic growth on life expectancy in South Africa from 1994 to 2022. This study took a comprehensive approach by including control variables namely health expenditure, innovation and telecommunications. These variables were integrated into the analysis to provide a more thorough understanding of their potential influence on life expectancy in the nation. The investigation begins with a bound testing of their potential influence on life expectancy, followed by the application of the ARDL (Autoregressive Distributed Lag) estimation technique. Additionally, the granger causality provides further insights into the temporal correlations among variables. The analysis reveals a noteworthy relationship between the variables in both short and long-term contexts, except GDP per capita, which proves insignificant in both the short and long run. As a result, the study highly recommends improving the efficiency and targeting of healthcare expenditure, aligning technological innovation with public health needs and using telecommunications strategically for healthcare outreach for South Africa to transition towards a healthier economy.