{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T16:38:55Z","timestamp":1791995935774,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776729600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010747","name":"Jilin University of Finance and Economics","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010747","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study examines the dynamic impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) on China\u2019s healthcare fiscal expenditures, focusing on the rational allocation of public funds under macroeconomic fluctuations. The study utilize the SV-TVP-FAVAR model to analyze quarterly national data (2007\u20132025) and inter-provincial data (2009\u20132019), overcoming traditional static model limitations. EPU shocks exhibit significant time-variability: a negative \u201csqueezing\u201d effect during the 2008 financial crisis but a counter-cyclical expansionary effect during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Regional fiscal strength moderates these impacts. Findings suggest that fiscally robust regions show resiliency through counter-cyclical spending, whereas fiscally fragile areas exhibit pro-cyclical tightening. Policy recommendations focus on long-term healthcare investment mechanisms and optimized transfer payments.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1788445","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T05:34:09Z","timestamp":1776749649000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Economic policy uncertainty and the dynamics of healthcare expenditure in China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Yuan","family":"Sui","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Taxation, Jilin University of Finance and Economics","place":["Jilin, Changchun, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lantong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Economics, Jilin University","place":["Jilin, Changchun, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuyu","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jilin Academy of Social Sciences","place":["Jilin, Changchun, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qianrui","family":"Yun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Economics, Jilin University","place":["Jilin, Changchun, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.19592\/j.cnki.scje.420842","article-title":"Internal and external economic uncertainty and macroeconomic policy responses: evidence from 31 countries worldwide","volume":"43","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"South China J Econ"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"623","DOI":"10.3386\/w13385","article-title":"The impact of uncertainty shocks","volume":"77","author":"Bloom","year":"2009","journal-title":"SSRN Electron J"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"673778","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2021.73778","article-title":"Does economic policy uncertainty matter for healthcare expenditure in China? 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