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Democratization and life expectancy in Europe, 1960–2008

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  • Mackenbach, Johan P.
  • Hu, Yannan
  • Looman, Caspar W.N.

Abstract

Over the past five decades, two successive waves of political reform have brought democracy to, first, Spain, Portugal and Greece, and, more recently, Central and Eastern European countries. We assessed whether democratization was associated with improvements in population health, as indicated by life expectancy and cause-specific mortality rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Mackenbach, Johan P. & Hu, Yannan & Looman, Caspar W.N., 2013. "Democratization and life expectancy in Europe, 1960–2008," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 166-175.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:93:y:2013:i:c:p:166-175
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.05.010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Vladimir A. Kozlov & Dina Y. Balalaeva, 2015. "Institutional Deficit and Health Outcomes in Post-Communist States," HSE Working papers WP BRP 25/PS/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    3. Fedotenkov, Igor, 2021. "The long road to democracy: Does the demand for democracy affect its actual level?," MPRA Paper 106286, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Batinti, Alberto & Costa-Font, Joan, 2022. "Does democracy make taller men? Cross-country European evidence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    5. Peterson, Lindsey & Ralston, Margaret, 2019. "Aging well in an aging world: The impact of material conditions, culture, and societal disruptions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 245-253.
    6. Krueger, Patrick M. & Dovel, Kathryn & Denney, Justin T., 2015. "Democracy and self-rated health across 67 countries: A multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 137-144.
    7. Kozlov, Vladimir A. & Rosenberg, Dina Y., 2018. "Institutional deficit and health outcomes in post-communist states," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 119-131.
    8. Mackenbach, Johan P. & McKee, Martin, 2015. "Government, politics and health policy: A quantitative analysis of 30 European countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(10), pages 1298-1308.
    9. Herian, Mitchel N. & Tay, Louis & Hamm, Joseph A. & Diener, Ed, 2014. "Social capital, ideology, and health in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 30-37.
    10. Karabulut, Gokhan & Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Bilgin, Mehmet Huseyin & Doker, Asli Cansin, 2021. "Democracy and COVID-19 outcomes," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    11. Scheiring, Gábor & Azarova, Aytalina & Irdam, Darja & Doniec, Katarzyna Julia & McKee, Martin & Stuckler, David & King, Lawrence, 2021. "Deindustrialization and the Postsocialist Mortality Crisis," SocArXiv jpbct, Center for Open Science.
    12. Miller, Michael & Toffolutti, Veronica & Reeves, Aaron, 2018. "The enduring influence of institutions on universal health coverage: An empirical investigation of 62 former colonies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 270-287.
    13. Wigley, Simon & Akkoyunlu-Wigley, Arzu, 2017. "The impact of democracy and media freedom on under-5 mortality, 1961–2011," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 237-246.
    14. Welander, Anna & Lyttkens, Carl Hampus & Nilsson, Therese, 2015. "Globalization, democracy, and child health in developing countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 136, pages 52-63.

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