The effect of the health cluster on local health development

The reorganization of the Brazilian State has transferred, to the federated entities, countless responsibilities due to the decentralization of tasks that were, before, of the federal government. This has challenged states and municipalities to manage, more efficiently and effectively, scarce public resources. Cities seek development that involves the attraction of local and global companies, fostering the economic activity of production and consumption that induces the generation of wealth in these societies. The constitution of clusters has been an auxiliary tool for the growth of local economies. The aim of the study, therefore, is to verify the effects of a cluster on the development of local health, based on the concentration, diversification and specialization of health in the municipalities under study, which have the potential to form a cluster. The study is characterized as a quantitative and descriptive research, which uses data from the Annual Social Information List (RAIS) and the socioeconomic development index (IDESE) from 2012 to 2016 in the municipalities of Porto Alegre, Caxias do Sul, Passo Fundo, Pelotas and Santa Maria. The results measure the concentration in health sector establishments; the specialization according to the established number of them, and the diversification that identifies the different types of these establishments; in addition, they describe the potential for the formation of health clusters in the studied places, and how health activities interact for the development of local health. From the results presented, it can be concluded that companies cluster in characteristics that refer to a health cluster, and that the effects on the development of local health can, in fact, contribute to the economic growth of the regions studied. Thus, with this work, it is expected to contribute to academic studies, in the construction of health clusters, as well as in health management.