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| Prince Fosu and Kevin Sylwester |
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| ''Environmental tax revenue and public health care expenditure'' |
| ( 2025, Vol. 45 No.4 ) |
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| This paper considers to what extent environmental taxes are associated with more public healthcare spending. The double-dividend hypothesis argues that these taxes not only lower pollution but generate revenue that can then be used to enhance welfare such as health care. Using a panel of countries and controlling for pollution to better distinguish between these two dividends, we find that countries with greater environmental tax revenue do, indeed, spend more on public healthcare although this result primarily holds for energy and transportation taxes. This finding arises for both high- and low-income countries but is stronger for democracies. |
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| Keywords: Environmental Tax, Pollution Tax, Double Dividend, Public Heath Care |
JEL: H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: General
H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: General |
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| Manuscript Received : Sep 24 2024 | | Manuscript Accepted : Dec 30 2025 |
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