Hosszein Panahi - Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Tabriz,Iran
Ramiar Refaei - Baneh Branch,Islamic Azad University ,Iran

This paper attempts to answer How does health expenditure and economic freedom impact economic growth? In this way economic growth model is estimated by using data of 31 selected MENA countries for time period of 2000-2009.The panel data analysis results show that health and economic institutions, specifically economic freedom, both play a role in economic development independently, but the strength of their impact can only be better understood when both are included in the growth regression. We find that, when both are included in the growth regression, the impact of health is greatly diminished, while economic freedom continues to have a significant impact on economic growth. Our results suggest that economic freedom is more important than health for growth outcomes.

Health Expenditure,Economic Freedom,Economic Growth,Panel Data