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

Author

Listed:
  • 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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    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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    Keywords

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    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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