The rapid economic growth of recent years and the resulting environmental pollution in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are serious concerns for the health of the general public. The main objective of this article is to measure the relationship between air pollutants and public health spending in MENA countries through an econometric model for the period 2000-2021. The fixed or random effects model will be used to test the proposed hypotheses and control variables will be included to obtain accurate and reliable results.
The results are based on a panel of fully modified least squares. The results show that there is a long-term causality between renewable energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in healthcare spending. Renewable energy and health spending are positively and significantly related. It is concluded that investment in renewable energy leads to a reduction in air pollution, improvements in health care, and the promotion of economic growth.