This paper investigates the long-run economic relationship between healthcare expenditure and income in the world using data on 167 countries over the period 1995–2012, collected from theWorld Bank data set. The analysis is carried using panel data methods that allow one to account for unobserved heterogeneity, temporal persistence, and cross-section dependence in the form of either a common factor model or a spatial process. We estimate a global measure of income elasticity using all countries in the sample, and for sub-groups of countries, depending on their geo-political area and income. Our findings suggest that at the global level, health care is a necessity rather than a luxury. However, results vary greatly depending on the sub-sample analysed. Our findings seem to suggest that size of income elasticity depends on the position of different countries in the global income distribution, with poorer countries showing higher elasticity.

The growth and variability of regional taxes: an application to Italy. Regional Studies. This paper investigates the potential long-term growth and short-term cyclical stability of the Italian regional tax system. Short- and long-run elasticities with respect to regional gross domestic product (GDP) are estimated between 2001 and 2012 for the surtax on central personal income tax (RPIT) and for the regional tax on productive activities (RTPA). Cyclical reactions are more marked for the RTPA and higher in the southern regions. Significant long-run growth of the RPIT and RTPA, on the other hand, is found only in the northern regions. The results suggest that the behaviour of regional taxes may increase the Italian north–south gap and cast some doubt on these taxes in financing essential public services, such as health, in each region.