Abstract
Health outcomes in Central and Eastern Europe have been generally improving over the last two decades. However, in Czechia, similarly to other countries, the outcomes vary significantly across the regional dimension.
In 2016, life expectancy at birth ranges between 75.5 and 80 years across 77 districts. This article empirically analyses determinants of these differences using a wide range of explanatory variables that are available on a district level.
Applying factor analysis, our findings indicate that the socio-economic situation within a district is the main driver, explaining a difference of up to four years in life expectancy at birth. Further controlling for gender specific variables, the results suggest that for men, alcoholic consumption significantly reduces life expectancy.
Both factors capturing socio-economic situation and alcoholic consumption exceed the impact of health care accessibility or environmental causes on life expectancy. The results remain robust when using more disaggregated information on 206 administrative districts as per geographic scale.