IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp17934.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Inequality and Mobility of Exposure to European Soviet Communism

Author

Listed:
  • Costa-Font, Joan

    (London School of Economics)

  • Nicinska, Anna

    (University of Warsaw)

  • Rossello Roig, Melcior

    (NHS England)

Abstract

We compare inequality and social mobility trends in European countries exposed to Soviet Communist (SC) regimes with those not exposed, using similar welfare measures. We draw upon a rich retrospective dataset that collects relevant welfare measures across regimes, including information on living space and self-reported health, and relevant inequality and mobility indices for ordinal and categorical data. Our results suggest evidence of comparable welfare inequality trends in countries exposed to SC regimes and those unexposed. Although individuals exposed to SC enjoyed higher levels of social mobility, differences in inequality across countries exposed to different regimes were negligible. A plausible explanation lies in the countervailing role of the welfare state in countries not exposed to SC and the inefficiency of the bureaucratic allocation of private goods aimed at reducing inequality in countries exposed to SC.

Suggested Citation

  • Costa-Font, Joan & Nicinska, Anna & Rossello Roig, Melcior, 2025. "The Inequality and Mobility of Exposure to European Soviet Communism," IZA Discussion Papers 17934, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17934
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp17934.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Angus Deaton, 2005. "Measuring Poverty in a Growing World (or Measuring Growth in a Poor World)," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(1), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Filip Novokmet & Thomas Piketty & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "From Soviets to oligarchs: inequality and property in Russia 1905-2016," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 16(2), pages 189-223, June.
    3. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    4. Michal Brzezinski & Katarzyna Salach, 2022. "Determinants of inequality in transition countries," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 496-496, June.
    5. Christelis, Dimitris & Jappelli, Tullio & Padula, Mario, 2010. "Cognitive abilities and portfolio choice," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 18-38, January.
    6. Pierre‐André Chiappori & Arthur Lewbel, 2015. "Gary Becker's A Theory of the Allocation of Time," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 0(583), pages 410-442, March.
    7. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2021. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892–2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110221, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/432sbils8u9t7qa99cii5psht1 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. M. Angelucci & V. Di Maro, 2016. "Programme evaluation and spillover effects," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 22-43, March.
    10. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2014. "Inequality in the long run," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-01053609, HAL.
    11. Giorgio Brunello & Guglielmo Weber & Christoph T. Weiss, 2017. "Books are Forever: Early Life Conditions, Education and Lifetime Earnings in Europe," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(600), pages 271-296, March.
    12. Mackenbach, Johan P., 2012. "The persistence of health inequalities in modern welfare states: The explanation of a paradox," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(4), pages 761-769.
    13. Iris Kesternich & Bettina Siflinger & James P. Smith & Joachim K. Winter, 2014. "The Effects of World War II on Economic and Health Outcomes across Europe," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(1), pages 103-118, March.
    14. Mazzonna, Fabrizio, 2014. "The long-lasting effects of family background: A European cross-country comparison," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 25-42.
    15. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    16. Alberto Alesina & Paola Giuliano, 2010. "The power of the family," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 93-125, June.
    17. Angus Deaton, 2005. "ERRATUM: Measuring Poverty in a Growing World (or Measuring Growth in a Poor World)," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 395-395, May.
    18. Frank A. Cowell & Emmanuel Flachaire, 2017. "Inequality with Ordinal Data," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 84(334), pages 290-321, April.
    19. Bergson, Abram, 1984. "Income Inequality under Soviet Socialism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 1052-1099, September.
    20. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Paniccia, Renato (ed.), 2000. "The Mortality Crisis in Transitional Economies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198297413, Decembrie.
    21. Mackenbach, Johan P. & Kunst, Anton E., 1997. "Measuring the magnitude of socio-economic inequalities in health: An overview of available measures illustrated with two examples from Europe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 757-771, March.
    22. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea, 1994. "Poverty, Food Consumption, and Nutrition during the Transition to the Market Economy in Eastern Europe," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 297-302, May.
    23. Henry Morton, 1980. "Who gets what, when and how? Housing in the Soviet Union," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 235-259.
    24. Paweł Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2021. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892–2015," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 187-239, June.
    25. Adam Wagstaff & Naoko Watanabe, 2003. "What difference does the choice of SES make in health inequality measurement?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(10), pages 885-890, October.
    26. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-01053609 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. Giorgio Brunello & Guglielmo Weber & Christoph T. Weiss, 2017. "Books are Forever: Early Life Conditions, Education and Lifetime Earnings in Europe," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(600), pages 271-296, March.
    28. Allison, R. Andrew & Foster, James E., 2004. "Measuring health inequality using qualitative data," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 505-524, May.
    29. Carlson, Per, 1998. "Self-perceived health in East and West Europe: another European health divide," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1355-1366, March.
    30. Kakwani, Nanak & Wagstaff, Adam & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 1997. "Socioeconomic inequalities in health: Measurement, computation, and statistical inference," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 87-103, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guiso, Luigi & Zaccaria, Luana, 2023. "From patriarchy to partnership: Gender equality and household finance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(3), pages 573-595.
    2. Liu, Xianda & Hou, Wenxuan & Main, Brian G.M., 2022. "Anti-market sentiment and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from anti-Jewish pogroms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Paweł Bukowski & Gregory Clark & Attila Gáspár & Rita Pető, 2022. "Social Mobility and Political Regimes: Intergenerational Mobility in Hungary, 1949–2017," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1551-1588, October.
    4. Branko Milanovic, 2022. "After the Financial Crisis: The Evolution of the Global Income Distribution Between 2008 and 2013," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 43-73, March.
    5. Erreygers, Guido & Van Ourti, Tom, 2011. "Measuring socioeconomic inequality in health, health care and health financing by means of rank-dependent indices: A recipe for good practice," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 685-694, July.
    6. Mauricio De Rosa & Joan Vilá, 2022. "Beyond tax-survey combination: inequality and the blurry household-firm border," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 22-10, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    7. Bertoni, Marco, 2015. "Hungry today, unhappy tomorrow? Childhood hunger and subjective wellbeing later in life," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 40-53.
    8. Marta Reynal-Querol & José García-Montalvo, 2021. "Measuring Inequality from Above," Working Papers 1252, Barcelona School of Economics.
    9. Alberto Alesina & Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Paola Giuliano, 2015. "Family Values And The Regulation Of Labor," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 599-630, August.
    10. Mauricio De Rosa & Joan Vilá, 2023. "Beyond tax-survey combination: inequality and the blurry household-firm border," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(3), pages 537-572, September.
    11. Pan, Yao, 2020. "Late-life cognition: Do childhood conditions play any role?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    12. Nikolić, Stefan & Novokmet, Filip & Larysz, Piotr Paweł, 2024. "Income inequality in Eastern Europe: Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia in the twentieth century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    13. Pawel Bukowski & Pawel Chrostek & Filip Novokmet & Marek Skawinski, 2023. "Income inequality in the 21st century Poland," CEP Discussion Papers dp1966, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    14. Nora Lustig, 2019. "The “Missing Rich” in Household Surveys: Causes and Correction Approaches," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 75, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    15. Angelini, Viola & Bertoni, Marco & Stella, Luca & Weiss, Christoph T., 2019. "The ant or the grasshopper? The long-term consequences of Unilateral Divorce Laws on savings of European households," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 97-113.
    16. Ding, Xiaoya (Sara) & Guo, Mengmeng & Kuai, Yicheng & Niu, Geng, 2023. "Social trust and firm innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 474-493.
    17. Lindelow, Magnus, 2004. "Sometimes more equal than others : how health inequalities depend on the choice of welfare indicator," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3329, The World Bank.
    18. Michal Brzezinski & Katarzyna Salach, 2022. "Determinants of inequality in transition countries," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 496-496, June.
    19. Nádia Simões & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira & Celeste A. Varum, 2016. "Measurement and determinants of health poverty and richness: evidence from Portugal," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 1331-1358, June.
    20. Michał Myck & Monika Oczkowska, 2018. "Shocked by therapy? Unemployment in the first years of the socio‐economic transition in Poland and its long‐term consequences," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(4), pages 695-724, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    bureaucracies; health inequality; welfare; self-reported health; living space; inequality; European Communist Regimes; education; social mobility; Soviet Communism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-
    • P20 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - General
    • P29 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Other
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
    • P46 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17934. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.