Government economic policy is the main instrument of macroeconomic regulation. Its priorities are largely determined by economic and political conjuncture, but it also has an impact on the economic development of the country, the region and the world. The paper investigates the evolution of concepts of state policy of economic growth both in Western and Russian economic theory; considers the main stages and directions of the state policy of economic growth in Russia; gives a comprehensive analysis of the factors limiting the growth of the Russian economy and the efforts of the state to overcome them; reveals the importance of social policy to humanize economic growth; substantiates the possibility of using the concept of the social market economy in the implementation of the state policy. The materials of the study can be useful in the development of state social policy and economic growth policy; they can also be used in the study of economic disciplines and their teaching.