Impact of Health Indicators on Men and Women’s Wages in Russia

Abstract : Using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, the article evaluates the impact of self-assessed health and morbidity on the hourly wage rate in the Russian labor market in 2015–2021. The main research method is econometric modeling. Random effects panel models for the working population show that good health contributes 3–4% to wages, while poor health reduces wages by 9%. No gender difference was identified in the contribution of health in the current period, while the impact of health is lower than the impact of education. The calculation results also demonstrated the absence of regional differences in wages caused by variations in self-assessed health between men and women in different regions. Lasso regression demonstrated that health indicators, including single-instance diseases and multimorbidity, were wage predictors for men; for women, not all chronic diseases are predictors of wages. The study results point to the need for health promotion. This can increase labor productivity and wages. Investments in health by individuals include increasing physical activity, quitting smoking and reducing alcohol consumption. The measures proposed in the article for state implementation include active information campaigns on health prevention, medical examinations, medical diagnostics, as well as improving provision of sports facilities to the population. All of these measures to preserve and accumulate health capital in a market economy are aimed at increasing labor productivity and are intended to become a source of economic growth in Russia for the next decade. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. 2024. ISSN 2079-9705, Regional Research of Russia, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 240–251. Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2024. Russian Text The Author(s), 2023, published in Region: Ekonomika i Sotsiologiya, 2023, No. 4 (120), pp. 51–78.