Macroeconomic Effects of Healthcare Financing in Colombia

HACIENDA PUBLICA ESPANOLA-REVIEW OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
Published: 
Classification JEL: 
E10, E26, E62, F41

The most recent

Juliana Jaramillo-Echeverri, Karina Acosta, Olga Lucia Acosta Navarro, Oscar Iván Ávila-Montealegre, Jhorland Ayala-García, Jaime Bonet-Morón, Jesus Botero, Luz A. Flórez, Daniela Gallo, Luis Armando Galvis-Aponte, Karelys Guzmán-Finol, Eduardo A. Haddad, Ana María Iregui-Bohórquez, David Camilo López-Valenzuela, Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra, Juan J. Ospina-Tejeiro, Andrea Otero-Cortés, Julian A. Parra-Polania, Gerson Javier Pérez-Valbuena, José Pulido, María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo, Mario A. Ramos-Veloza, Charles Rahal, Jorge Leonardo Rodríguez-Arenas, Shadia Zardibia
Camilo Bohorquez-Penuela, Leonardo Bonilla-Mejía, Anabelle Couleau, Alexánder Almeida

Real healthcare expenditure in Colombia is expected to increase by 49% over the next eight years, due to population aging, rising costs, and domestic policies. These trends add significant pressure to public finances, in a context of high levels of informality. Using a dynamic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous households, we analyze the macroeconomic impact of financing higher public healthcare expenditure through different taxes. Funding sources play a significant role in shaping the aggregate dynamics and income inequality. While consumption taxes are the best option in terms of output, financing with taxes on high-skilled labor improves income distribution with similar effects on production. Population aging puts additional pressure on aggregate dynamics by reducing labor supply, savings and capital accumulation.