Macroeconomic Effects of Healthcare Financing in Colombia

HACIENDA PUBLICA ESPANOLA-REVIEW OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
Publicado: 
Clasificación JEL: 
E10, E26, E62, F41

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Anne Brockmeyer, Francois Gerard, Gabriel Ulyssea, Linda Wu, Marcelo Bergolo, Rodrigo Ceni González, Bernard Kirui, Andrea Lopez-Luzuriaga, Leonardo Fabio Morales, Andrea Sofía Otero-Cortés, Nadine Riedel, Matias Tapia, Tanisa Tawichsri, Verena Wiedemann
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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.