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"Mass Privatisation and the Post-Communist Mortality Crisis": Is There Really a Relationship?

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  • John S. Earle

    (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and Central European University)

  • Scott Gehlbach

    (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Abstract

We reexamine the well-publicized claim that "rapid mass privatisation [of state-owned enterprises] . . . was a crucial determinant of differences in adult mortality trends in postcommunist countries" (Stuckler, King and McKee, 2009). Our analysis shows that the estimated correlation of privatization and mortality in country-level data is not robust to recomputing the mass-privatization measure, to assuming a short lag for economic policies to affect mortality, and to controlling for country-specific mortality trends. Further, in an analysis of the determinants of mortality in Russian regions, we find no evidence that privatization increased mortality during the early 1990s. Finally, we reanalyze the relationship between privatization and unemployment in postcommunist countries, showing that there is little support for the proposed mechanism by which privatization might have increased mortality.

Suggested Citation

  • John S. Earle & Scott Gehlbach, 2010. ""Mass Privatisation and the Post-Communist Mortality Crisis": Is There Really a Relationship?," Upjohn Working Papers 10-162, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:upj:weupjo:10-162
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. J. David Brown & John S. Earle, 2003. "The reallocation of workers and jobs in Russian industry," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 11(2), pages 221-252, June.
    2. Elizabeth Brainerd & David M. Cutler, 2005. "Autopsy on an Empire: Understanding Mortality in Russia and the Former Soviet Union," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 107-130, Winter.
    3. Brown, J. David & Earle, John S. & Gehlbach, Scott, 2009. "Helping Hand or Grabbing Hand? State Bureaucracy and Privatization Effectiveness," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 103(2), pages 264-283, May.
    4. Karpov, Valery & Mozzherina, Nadezhda & Andreeva, Elena, 2009. "Использование Case-Технологий При Моделировании Организации Предпринимательской Деятельности В Агропромышленном Комплексе [Using CASE-technologies in the simulation of business organization in the ," MPRA Paper 59375, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. J. David Brown & John S. Earle, "undated". "The Reallocation of Workers and Jobs in Russian Industry: New Evidence on Measures and Determinants," Upjohn Working Papers jse20031, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    6. Ivaschenko, Oleksiy, 2005. "The patterns and determinants of longevity in Russia's regions: Evidence from panel data," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 788-813, December.
    7. Irina Denisova, 2009. "Mortality in Russia: Microanalysis," Working Papers w0128, Center for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR).
    8. Brown, J. David & Earle, John S. & Vakhitov, Volodymyr, 2006. "Wages, layoffs, and privatization: Evidence from Ukraine," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 272-294, June.
    9. J. David Brown & John S. Earle & Almos Telegdy, 2006. "The Productivity Effects of Privatization: Longitudinal Estimates from Hungary, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(1), pages 61-99, February.
    10. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Paniccia, Renato (ed.), 2000. "The Mortality Crisis in Transitional Economies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198297413.
    11. Stillman, Steven, 2006. "Health and nutrition in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union during the decade of transition: A review of the literature," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 104-146, January.
    12. Irina Denisova, 2009. "Mortality in Russia: Microanalysis," Working Papers w0128, New Economic School (NES).
    13. J. David Brown & John S. Earle & Almos Telegdy, "undated". "The Productivity Effects of Privatization: Longitudnal Estimates for Hungary, romania, Russia, and Ukraine," Upjohn Working Papers jse20063, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher J. Gerry & Yulia Raskina & Daria Tsyplakova, 2018. "Convergence or Divergence? Life Expectancy Patterns in Post-communist Countries, 1959–2010," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 309-332, November.
    2. Gerry, Christopher J., 2012. "The journals are full of great studies but can we believe the statistics? Revisiting the Mass Privatisation – Mortality Debate," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 14-22.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    privatization; mortality; health; shock therapy; unemployment; Eastern Europe; Former Soviet Union; Lancet;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies
    • P31 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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