Empirical analysis of health capital as a factor of economic and social resource potential

One of the most common problems of declining labor productivity is health problems, which is why health capital research is increasingly in demand. However, the abstract nature of the concept of health capital and the lack of a single generally accepted methodology for evaluating indicators pose a scientific research problem. The subject of the study is the impact of public health on the development of economic processes in the country. The basis for the development of the concept of health capital was the consideration of health as an asset that allows a person to use his human capital for as long as possible. This formulation of the issue required consideration of health—saving behavior as the main endogenous factor of people’s inequality in health, which is the focus of attention of several scientific disciplines, the key among which are medicine, economics and sociology. The problem of the lack of a generally accepted methodology for creating a single indicator that can approximate the theoretical concept of «health capital» in empirical research has determined the purpose of this material. In this article, the author’s methodology for creating indicators of health capital is proposed. Based on the fact that social determinants of health belong to broad categories of causes, factors and resources that have a direct and indirect impact on health, such indicators as: general well-being (self-awareness of health); the presence of chronic diseases were selected.; investing in health capital. In our study of health capital, we use quantitative indicators that reflect how effectively a person’s health allows them to engage in work. Certain actions can both improve and worsen your health. In other words, when measuring health capital, we not only measure health itself directly, but also take into account how comfortable a person is to live and work with such a level of health and what contribution he makes to its strengthening.