Elites and health infrastructure improvements in industrializing regimes

We examine the political economy factors behind rising public health infrastructure investments in industrializing regimes. To this end, we compile information on more than 5,000 Prussian politicians, digitize administrative data on the provision of health-promoting public goods, and gather local-level information on workers’ movements. Results from OLS and 2SLS regressions suggest that increased investments can be explained with elites’ self-interests and their fear of social turmoil. In particular, we find that measures preventing the outbreak and spread of diseases serve the personal interests of the elites, while the access to health care services was improved to avoid instabilities.

Krieger, Tommy (2023), Elites and health infrastructure improvements in industrializing regimes, Journal of Economic Growth