The Mortality Crisis in Transitional Economies
Published on 3. August 2000
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-0-19-829741-3 (ISBN)
Description
In spite of widespread expectations of improvements in living standards and health conditions, in most of the countries of the former Soviet bloc the transition to the market economy was accompanied by a sharp increase in (already high) death rates. Such an increase provoked an 'excess mortality' of some three million people over the period 1989-96 alone, an unprecedented phenomenon in peacetime. Such a crisis remains poorly explained, has generated a limited policy response in the countries concerned and international organizations, and is bound to generate important political and economic repercussions.
This book is the first comprehensive assessment of the mortality crisis in transitional economies, of its causes, and of its remedies on the basis - among others - of micro data sets and quasi-panels on health trends which have never been used before. Contributions by demographers, economists, sociologists, epidemiologists, and health experts provide a rigorous analysis of the upsurge in mortality rates, with the aim of contributing to the launch of vigorous policies to tackle the crisis.
This book is the first comprehensive assessment of the mortality crisis in transitional economies, of its causes, and of its remedies on the basis - among others - of micro data sets and quasi-panels on health trends which have never been used before. Contributions by demographers, economists, sociologists, epidemiologists, and health experts provide a rigorous analysis of the upsurge in mortality rates, with the aim of contributing to the launch of vigorous policies to tackle the crisis.
Reviews / Votes
essential reading, not only for those interested in demographic changes in eastern Europe, but for anyone seeking better understanding of the interface between social structure and well-being and survival in human societies * Population and Development Review, Vol.27, No.3 *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
tables and graphs
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
886 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-829741-3 (9780198297413)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
PART I. THE MORTALITY CRISIS OF THE EARLY 1990S: A HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ; 1. The transition mortality crisis: evidence, interpretation and policy responses ; 2. Mortality crises in a historical perspective: the European experience ; 3. Short-term, long-term, and hysteresis mortality models: a review ; PART II. UNDERLYING CAUSES OF THE MORTALITY CRISES ; 4. Alcohol as a cause of mortality in societies undergoing rapid transition to market economy ; 5. Transition, impoverishment and mortality: how large an impact? ; 6. Psychological and biological mechanisms behind the recent mortality crisis in Central and Eastern Europe ; PART III. INDIVIDUAL AND PUBLIC RESPONSES ; 7. Rising unemployment and coping strategies: the case of the Novosibirsk oblast in Russia ; 8. Transition, health production and medical system effectiveness ; 9. Fighting unemployment and stress: labour market policies in Central and Eastern Europe ; PART IV. EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED COUNTRY CASE STUDIES ; 10. The mortality crisis in East Germany ; 11. Population crisis and rising mortality in transitional Russia ; 12. The mortality consequences of the transition to market economy in Latvia: 1991-95 ; 13. The decline of mortality in the Czech Republic during the transition: a counterfactual case study ; 14. Economic restructuring and mortality changes in Argentina: is there any connection? ; 15. When the welfare state works: unemployment and mortality in Finland ; 16. Labour market changes and mental illness in Denmark during the 1980s ; 17. The impact of income dynamics on mortality in the USA