he Engel Curve for Health Services in Colombia: A Semiparametric Approach

In this article, the Engel curves for different types of health expenses are estimated. To this end, semiparametric models using information from the Survey of Life Quality in 1997 are employed. In addition, endogeneity problems were corrected using two-stage built regressors. Bootstrap contrasts were conducted to identify linear and quadratic effects. The results indicate that linearity is rejected in the majority of the estimations, but the quadratic effect cannot be rejected in the cases of transportation and hospitalization for the poorest. Similarly, public transport to attend health services behaves as an inferior good, while social security enrollment expenses might be a luxury good.