The State Socialist Mortality Syndrome

Death rates for working-age men in European state socialist countries deviated from general improvements in survival observed in the rest of Europe during the 20th century. The magnitude of structural labor force changes across countries correlates with lagged increases in death rates for men in the working ages. This pattern is consistent with a hypothesis that hyper-development of heavy industry and stagnation (even contraction) of the service sector created anomic conditions leading to unhealthy lifestyles and self-destructive behavior among men moving from primary-sector to secondary-sector occupations. Occupational contrasts within countries similarly show concentration of rising male death rates among blue collar workers. Collapse of state socialist systems produced rapid corrections in labor force structure after 1990, again correlated with a fading of the state socialist mortality syndrome in following decades

Deaths from cirrhosis in Poland and Hungary: the impact of different alcohol policies during the 1980s.

OBJECTIVE: To compare patterns of deaths from cirrhosis in Poland and Hungary in the context of differing alcohol policies in the 1980s. DESIGN: Cohort analysis of deaths from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis between 1959 and 1992 using mortality data from the World Health Organization database. RESULTS: The pattern of alcohol related mortality in these countries is quite different. In both countries, death rates increased in the 1960s and 1970s. In Poland, this increase was arrested in 1980 and death rates have levelled out, with the exception of those in young females. In Hungary, rates have continued to climb, although the rate of increase decreased in the 1980s. This change coincides with the introduction of a policy, following the introduction of martial law, to reduce alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The countries of central and eastern Europe display many similarities in both political history and measures of health such as overall life expectancy. When examined more closely, substantial differences emerge. Policy makers must be cautious about adopting global solutions to health challenges that fail to take into account national variations

Poverty dynamics in Hungary during the transformation

At the time of transoformation in Hungary, poverty was one of the most discussed public questions. This paper focuses mainly on the longitudinal aspect of poverty. It describes the development of the poverty figures by the application of different poverty concepts. The dual nature of poverty is both poverty. We aim to dispel some of the doubts about poverty, and portray, the portray the different social groups experiencing permanent and transitory poverty. Copyright The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 1998.