Economics for Medical Students = Экономика для медиков

Economics for Medical 
Students

ЭКОНОМИКА  
ДЛЯ МЕДИКОВ

ECONOMICS FOR MEDICAL 
STUDENTS 

Textbook

Москва
Лаборатория знаний
2022

Учебник

Под общей редакцией доктора экономических наук,  
профессора Ю. В. Федоровой

Under the general editorship of Economic Sciences,

prof. Y. V. Fedorova

Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное  
учреждение высшего образования Первый Московский  
государственный медицинский университет имени И.М. Сеченова 
Министерства здравоохранения Российской Федерации  
(Сеченовский Университет)

Рекомендовано

Электронное издание

Координационным советом по области образования 
«Здравоохранение и медицинские науки» в качестве  
учебника для использования в образовательных  
учреждениях, реализующих основные профессиональные 
образовательные программы высшего образования  
уровня специалитета по направлениям  
подготовки 31.05.01 Лечебное дело, 
31.05.03 Стоматология

УДК 33:111(075.8)
ББК 65.495я73
Э40
Р е ц е н з е н т ы: зав. кафедрой экономики и управления здравоохранением и фармацией
ГБОУ ВПО «Саратовский государственный медицинский университет им. В. И. Разумовского», д-р мед. наук, проф. И. Г. Новокрещенова; проф. кафедры управления и экономики
здравоохранения ИПО Красноярского государственного медицинского университета им.
проф. В. Ф. Войно-Ясенецкого Минздрава России, д-р экон. наук А. С. Ямщиков
А в т о р ы: Борщева Наталья Леонидовна, канд. экон. наук, доцент кафедры экономики
и менеджмента (гл. 5); Кирикуца Елена Геннадьевна, канд. экон. наук, доцент кафедры
экономики
и
менеджмента
(гл. 3, 4);
Павлова
Алина
Сергеевна,
ассистент
кафедры
экономики и менеджмента (гл. 7, 8); Погребинская Екатерина Александровна, д-р экон. наук,
проф.
кафедры
экономики
и
менеджмента
(гл. 6, 11);
Федорова
Юлия
Вячеславовна,
д-р экон. наук,
проф.,
зав.
кафедрой
экономики
и
менеджмента
Первого
МГМУ
им. И. М. Сеченова (гл. 1, общая редакция); Федоров Егор Андреевич, канд. экон. наук,
доцент кафедры экономики и менеджмента (гл. 2, глоссарий); Черезова Яна Алексеевна,
канд. экон. наук, доцент кафедры экономики и менеджмента (гл. 9, 10)

Э40
Economics for Medical Students : textbook = Экономика для
медиков : учебник / под общ. ред. д-ра экон. наук, проф. Ю. В. Федоровой. — Электрон.
изд. — М.
:
Лаборатория
знаний,
2022. —
256 с. — Систем. требования: Adobe Reader XI ; экран 10". — Загл.
с титул. экрана. — Текст : электронный.
ISBN 978-5-00101-985-5
This textbook
is devoted
to
the
fundamental issues of economics
and the basics of the development of economic thinking of students and
fully meets the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standards
of Higher Education for the group of specialties «Healthcare». In the
textbook, economic concepts, categories, patterns of economic development,
logic and efficiency of economic processes, principles of making optimal
economic decisions, microeconomic and macroeconomic foundations of the
functioning and interaction of economic entities are considered in a complex.
To activate the independent work of students, their creative attitude
to the subject, control questions are given after each topic.
A glossary is provided at the end of the textbook. The textbook can
be used as a source of theoretical material, and as a practical guide for
independent work.
The textbook is intended for students studying in medical specialties
in English.
Данный учебник посвящен фундаментальным вопросам экономики
и основам развития экономического мышления студентов и полностью
соответствует
требованиям
Федеральных
государственных
образовательных
стандартов
высшего
образования
(2020)
по
группе
специальностей «Здравоохранение». В учебнике в комплексе рассмотрены
экономические
понятия,
категории,
закономерности
экономического
развития, логика и эффективность экономических процессов, принципы
принятия оптимальных экономических решений, микроэкономические
и макроэкономические основы функционирования и взаимодействия
субъектов экономики.
Для активизации самостоятельной работы студентов, их творческого
отношения к предмету после каждой темы даны контрольные вопросы.
В конце учебника представлен глоссарий. Учебник можно использовать
как источник теоретического материала и как практическое пособие
для самостоятельной работы.
Учебник предназначен для студентов, обучающихся по медицинским
специальностям на английском языке.
УДК 33:111(075.8)
ББК 65.495я73
Деривативное издание на основе печатного аналога: Economics for
Medical Students : textbook = Экономика для медиков : учебник / под
общ. ред. д-ра экон. наук, проф. Ю. В. Федоровой. — М. : Лаборатория
знаний, 2022. — 253 с. : ил. — ISBN 978-5-00101-389-1.

В соответствии со ст. 1299 и 1301 ГК РФ при устранении ограничений, установленных
техническими средствами защиты авторских прав, правообладатель вправе требовать
от нарушителя возмещения убытков или выплаты компенсации

ISBN 978-5-00101-985-5

© ФГАОУ ВО Первый МГМУ им. И. М. Сеченова Минздрава России
(Сеченовский Университет), 2021

© Лаборатория знаний, 2022

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 9

UNIT 1
SUBJECT AND METHODOLOGY OF ECONOMICS 13

The Subject, Functions, and Methods of Economic 
Science  13

Why Is It Important to Study Economics? 16
The Method of Economics 19
Cautions and Pitfalls to Straight Thinking 22
Basic Economic Terms: Wants and Resources 24
The Three Basic Economic Questions 27
Types of Economic Systems and Their Answers to the 
Fundamental Questions 28

UNIT 2
MARKET ANALYSIS: DEMAND, SUPPLY, PRICES 33

Market 33
Law of Demand. Determinants of Demand 34
Law of Supply. Determinants of Supply 37
Market Equilibrium and the Price Mechanism 40
The Elasticity of Demand and Elasticity of Supply 42

UNIT 3
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR THEORY 51

Diminishing Marginal Demand Law 52
Consumer Equilibrium 55
Consumer Surplus 56

 
Contents

6
Consumer Behaviour Theory 58
Consumer Budget Constraint 59
Indifference Curves 62
Analyzing Consumer Equilibrium Using The Budget Line and 
Indifference Curves 64

UNIT 4
ENTERPRISE  67

Enterprise’s Role in a Market Economy 67
Types of Enterprises 70

UNIT 5
THE FOUNDATIONS OF PRODUCER DECISION 
MAKING 73

Production in the Short Run and the Long Run 73
Explicit Costs and Implicit Costs 75
Revenue and Profit 84

UNIT 6
COMPETITION THEORY 87

The Essence of Competition 87
Types, Sorts, and Methods of Competition 89
Models of Market Structures 91

UNIT 7
FACTORS MARKETS 107

Features of Supply and Demand in the Market of Factors of 
Production 107

Capital and Capital Asset Markets 110
Capital Interest and Its Role in Economic Development 113
The Labour Market and Its Features 115
Wage 119
Land Market and Rental Relations 124

Contents

UNIT 8
PATTERNS OF FUNCTIONING OF THE NATIONAL 
ECONOMY 129

Macroeconomics 129
National Economy 131
System of National Accounts 133
Main Macroeconomic Indicators, Methods of Their 
Calculation 138

Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply 143
Economic Growth 148

UNIT 9
MAJOR MACROECONOMIC PROBLEMS 153

The Business Cycle 153
Inflation 163
Unemployment 171
How Inflation and Unemployment Are Related 175

UNIT 10
MARKET ECONOMY REGULATION 181

The Changing Role of the State in the Economy 181
Fiscal Policy 188
Monetary Policy 192
Antitrust Policy 195
Social Policy 196

UNIT 11
INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF ECONOMIC 
DEVELOPMENT 201

Modern World Economy: Concept, Structure, Subjects, 
Development Trends 201

International Trade in the Global Economy 204
The Global Market for Capital and Labour 210
The International Monetary and Financial System 218

GLOSSARY 223
REFERENCES 252

INTRODUCTION

Today, the need for economic knowledge is great at all levels —  from the state to various market institutions, from legislative to executive governing bodies, from academic economists to medical students.
The federal project “Export of Education” is aimed at increasing by 2024 the number of foreigners studying in organizations carrying out education for higher education programs 
to 425 thousand people through infrastructure development, 
implementation of state support for the development of the 
export of Russian education, increasing the demand and competitiveness of Russian education. Russian medical teaching 
is traditionally in demand among international students.
The main task of the textbook is to form a modern type of 
economic thinking and behaviour among multicultural students studying in Russia in medical specialties based on the 
knowledge about the structure and functions of a market 
economy, the logic, and efficiency of economic processes, the 
principles of making optimal economic decisions, the legal 
and ethical foundations of the functioning and interaction of 
economic subjects.
The creation of this textbook is caused by the need to acquaint students not only with fundamental economic concepts but also with modern theories of real directions that 
have been formed at present in economics. This approach is 
necessary to improve the structure of teaching economic disciplines in medical schools.

 
Introduction

10
The implementation of this approach has led to some features that distinguish this textbook from a large number of 
educational economic literature.
Firstly, a feature of this textbook is the specificity of teaching economics for students of medical universities, presenting 
the material in a simple and accessible form, with specific situations illustrating the significance of the theoretical provisions of economic theory, which makes it possible to use them 
for analysis concerning health care. This approach is designed 
to guide students to independently understand the problems 
of the economy in general and the economics of health care in 
particular.
Secondly, the textbook was written in the context of the 
modernization of the healthcare and education sectors. 
The principal place in modernization is occupied by the issues of improving the quality of medical education. Today, 
there is a growing tendency to involve doctors of all specialties and nurses in the management of health care resources, 
who must have extensive knowledge in the field of economics. An essential role in the training of modern-level specialists belongs to the textbook, which allows students, future 
specialists, to systematize knowledge and independently understand economic problems and propose solutions. The authors of the book set themselves the task of improving the 
quality of teaching economic disciplines for students of medical universities.
Thirdly, in the textbook, the general theoretical aspects 
of economic problems are complemented by their functional analysis using graphs. This provides a scientific understanding of economic phenomena and laws, allows students 
to comprehend economic practice critically, identify the principles of rational management, scientifically substantiate the 
economic and social policy of the state.
Fourthly, this textbook can be called targeted since it is intended for students of medical universities, where economic training has a certain specificity, includes fewer hours of 
study and a greater focus on practical problems. To activate 
the independent work of students, their creative attitude to