THE ECONOMIC ROLE OF THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HEALTH SECTORS IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This article aimed to analyze the impacts of the public and private health sectors on the productive structure of the Brazilian economy, identifying their intersectoral linkages and the intensity of their effects on other economic sectors. To achieve this, the input-output model based on the Brazilian matrix was employed, using the hypothetical extraction method, which allows measuring the economic impacts resulting from the simulated removal of the analyzed sectors. The results showed that both segments play a strategic role in the national economy, although they present distinct patterns of productive articulation. The private health sector revealed more intense and concentrated impacts on specific industrial sectors, especially in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, chemical products, and intermediate goods manufacturing, indicating high technological density and strong dependence on specialized inputs. In contrast, the public health sector presented more distributed impacts throughout the economy, affecting infrastructure sectors, administrative services, and institutional support activities. It is concluded that the health sector goes beyond its assistance function, constituting a structuring element of Brazilian economic and industrial development, particularly within the scope of the Health Economic-Industrial Complex (HEIC).