China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Life Expectancy in Host Countries: Empirical Analysis

Increasing life expectancy is part of the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and is a primary indicator of overall quality of life. This paper investigates whether Chinese overseas direct investments into Belt and Road countries have brought about improvement in the life expectancy in these countries, using datasets compiled by non-China sources for the period 2005–2019. This topic has not been addressed in the literature to date. In addition, the generalized method of moments estimation approach used in the study incorporates a novel application of a systematic sequential model specification search which removes the criticism of the flexibility inherent in the method. No significant impact on life expectancy was found from such investments in the Belt and Road countries, which is likely because life expectancy changes slowly, and effects on life expectancy, if present, may only become measurable in years or decades.