The relevance of this study stems from the growing role of wages in public and private healthcare institutions as a factor in reducing the structural shortage of healthcare workers, promoting their professional development, and, consequently, improving the quality of healthcare services. Institutional differences in wage levels and mechanisms are becoming particularly significant in the context of the private sector’s integration into the compulsory health insurance system, affecting the distribution of personnel and the effectiveness of healthcare. Therefore, the aim of this article is to analyze differences in wage levels and the conditions for convergence of institutional mechanisms for wage setting in the public and private segments of the healthcare system. The study focuses on public and private dental practices in the public and private healthcare sectors. The research examines the impact of wage differences on the employment structure of healthcare workers in public and private organizations. To achieve this goal, the study utilized panel analysis methods, comparative and institutional approaches. The primary tool used was fixed-effects panel regression (PanelOLS), which allows for accounting for time-dependent changes and regional characteristics. The analysis was conducted separately for public and private medical organizations, revealing institutional differences in the number of physicians based on salary levels. The results of the study demonstrate the existence of a dual model of labor market and salary formation in dental practice. In the public sector, a negative relationship between salary levels and the number of physicians is observed, due to institutional constraints and administrative barriers. In the private sector, a statistically significant positive correlation was established, indicating a high sensitivity of personnel demand to salary levels. It is noted that the need to align salary models in the public and private sectors is particularly important. This will reduce imbalances in the medical labor market, increase the competitiveness of public institutions, and ensure a more even distribution of specialists across regions and ownership structures.
Nikolay Merkulov (Fri,) studied this question.