Health Economics
Health Economics - a macroeconomic perspective - 2000-2005
Health is not currently considered an economic activity by professionals of this field. This approach, however, is fundamental for the knowledge of its productive structure, for the dynamics of this sector – including its financial aspects, interaction with the rest of the economy and the destination given to the goods and services produced – and for the formulation and implementation of policies aimed at a more effective use of public resources and at a better distribution of health benefits among the population.
With this study, which is a result of cooperative efforts involving institutions such as the Oswaldo Cruz foundation – Fiocruz, the Institute for Applied Economic Research – IPEA, the National etc, etc, etc, the Regulatory Agency of Supplementary Health Programs, ANS, and the Ministry of Health, IBGE offers to the public, for the first time, a wide view of the resources and uses of health and its evolution with time.
Production data have been systematized and compiled, together with information on consumption and foreign trade of goods and services related to health, as well as employment and income in the activities which generate these products and the infra-structure of the sector. The main source adopted in this case was the System of National Accounts, which summarizes the country's economic data. Results from other surveys have also been also used by IBGE, for example, the Annual Survey of Industry, the Annual Survey of Trade, the Survey of Medical-Sanitary Assistance and the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Information from ANS has also been used as a complement.
T his publication describes, at first, methodological procedures which have guided the elaboration of the study, with specific highlight on the importance of a future satellite account of this sector, the boundaries of which, in the scope of the present study, have been based on activities considered typical of the health system, according to the National Classification of Economic Activities – CNAE 1.0. The analysis of the results of such activities, widely illustrated by tables and graphs, encompasses the period 2000-2005 and includes several aspects, such as: value of production of the goods and services generated; inputs consumed in productive processes; contribution to the generation of income; investments; salaries; job positions; establishments in activities related to health in industry, trade and services; beneficiaries of health insurance systems, among other aspects. The publication also includes a glossary with the concepts considered relevant to the understanding of results, besides appendices with the detailed structure of the Tables of Resources and Uses and with the Integrated Economic Accounts for the period 2000-2005, the source of most of the data and information included in this publication.
The information presented herein, also available o the IBGE web site on the Internet, makes it possible to know the profile of healthcare in recent years, and present a projection of its participation in the Brazilian economy, thus contributing to the valuing of this important economic segment and to the future development of a health satellite-account in the country.