HEALTH EXPENDITURES IN LATIN-AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

This paper presents the results of a study commissioned by the Latin A merican and Caribbean Technical Department of the World Bank to docume nt and analyze health expenditures in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1990, the countries of this region spent USS 69 billion on health, with an average per capita health expenditure of US$ 162. On average, the countries spent 6.2% of their GDP on health, with the expenditure s divided about equally between the public and private sectors. In bot h the public and private sectors, per capita health expenditures were positively and significantly correlated with per capita income. Howeve r, this relationship holds only for the public sector, when health exp enditures are measured as a proportion of GDP. While several poorer co untries were dependent on external assistance, with increasing income, the countries relied more on public expenditures to finance health ca re. Based on the limited time series data, it is evident that there wa s a considerable variation among countries regarding the proportion sp ent on capital investments, primary health care, and drugs, but not on salaries. Looking ahead, with increasing economic development, the pr oportion of GDP spent on health, along with public health expenditure as a proportion of total health expenditure, is likely to increase rap idly, while aid dependency is likely to decline. Copyright (C) 1997 El sevier Science Ltd