Air pollution, public health expenditure, and physical health: Evidence from China

Air pollution is known to have adverse effects on physical health, but the influence of public health expenditure (PHE) on physical health has received less attention. This study utilizes 2 years of panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to investigate the effects of air pollution and PHE on physical health. The main findings reveal that, for each unit increase in SO2, there is a corresponding decrease of 0.006 in physical health. For each unit increase in PHE, there is a 0.838 increase in physical health. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impact of air pollution on public health varies among different groups. Notably, air pollution has more detrimental effects on women's health compared to men, and middle-aged and elderly individuals are more vulnerable to air pollution. Additionally, urban residents are more susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution compared to rural residents. Furthermore, PHE positively impacts women's health and significantly enhances the health of rural residents. People residing in western and central regions are more susceptible to air pollution than those in the eastern regions. This underscores the importance of tailoring environmental pollution reduction and PHE increase policies to address the unique needs of various groups and regions in order to promote overall improvements in residents' health.