Health care as a sectoral driver of economic growth

The pandemic of a new coronavirus infection has had a signifi cant impact on the global and Russian economy: there has been a decline in economic activity, an increase in unemployment, and a decrease in the welfare of the population. Funds aimed at combating COVID-19 allowed stimulating healthcare and related industries, which entailed multiplicative eff ects in the Russian economy. The aim of the research is to assess the economic effects at the country and regional level of health sector stimulation during a pandemic. The methodological approach is based on the methods of intersectoral modeling. The information base is the data of Rosstat, EMISS, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Accounts Chamber, as well as the latest available tables “input-output” for 2016. We have revealed that health care in the Russian Federation lags behind the health care of developed countries both in terms of the degree of impact on the economy and in terms of public funding. Using intersectoral modeling we have calculated the eff ects of stimulating the health care system by means of the Reserve Fund, expressed in the growth of gross output, number of employees and labor remuneration fund. The Central, Volga and North Caucasian federal districts were named as the main recipients of the effects, which allows talking about the possibility of equalizing the disparities in the territorial development of the Russian Federation. Such types of economic activities as manufacturing industry and wholesale and retail trade are identifi ed as sectoral consumers of the effects. The development of these industries will lead, among other things, to the intensifi cation of the health sector growth. As suggestions for the development of the health care sector, a number of directions that can accelerate the growth rate of the sector and the economic effects derived from it are indicated. The practical signifi cance lies in the possibility of using the results obtained by the authorities in order to better understand the current situation of the health sector and to develop measures to stimulate it.