Examining the relationship of healthcare expenditures and socio-economic factors with population health in Russia

The article follows the Grossman concept of investment in health and describes possibilities to increase human capital by addressing determinants of health. We aim to estimate the effect of healthcare expenditures and alcohol consumption on the life expectancy of men and women in Russia. Data sources are the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia and regional laws on the execution of the budgets of regional health insurance funds from 2005 to 2022. We estimate a linear regression model with fixed effects. Estimation results show that there is a significant reserve for improving health and increasing life expectancy associated with the formation of a healthy lifestyle. A 1% increase in absolute alcohol consumption at an annual level reduces the life expectancy of men by 0.035% or 8 days, and the life expectancy of women by 0.019% or 5 days, other things being equal. We show on macrodata that the effect of lifestyle factors on life expectancy is almost two times higher than the effect of healthcare expenditures in Russia. However, the effect of health system resources on life expectancy is stronger than the effect of healthcare expenditures and lifestyles. Our findings inform decision-makers responsible for initiatives aimed at improving public health. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.