Health Care in the USSR

Feshbach, Murray; Rubin, Ann

doi:10.1007/978-1-349-11690-4_4

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For the Soviet Union, Feshbach (1990, p. 11) argues that lack of syringes, inadequate refrigeration, and “sheer indifference” hampered antimeasles efforts. Simultaneously, the number of annual cases for pertussis, polio, and diphtheria “were well in excess of those in the United States” (Hoch, 1997, p. 9).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralized response as a pandemic second‐best: The case of Russia

Maltsev

2023

Southern Economic Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Centralized state response is almost universally considered as the first best option for managing pandemics. This paper argues that in reality, states fall short of this ideal. Knowledge problems hinder the government's disease acknowledgement, resource allocation and feedback, while compulsion, political predation, and corruption exacerbate the situation further. On the other hand, a decentralized, voluntary response may overcome knowledge problems and opportunism through effective signals such as prices, better incentives, local knowledge, and internalization of disease‐related externalities. This results in a speedier, more effective, and responsive pandemic management, which also accounts for differences in risk preferences, and becomes a feasible second‐best option. I then apply these insights to Russia and its history of disease management. I focus on three diseases: plague, cholera, and COVID‐19, which results in a historical analysis that spans multiple centuries and different institutional settings. I show that government‐led pandemic response in Russia has been riddled with knowledge problems, abuse, political predation, and violence. On the other hand, a decentralized response was quicker and more effective at managing the disease, often emerging even in the most unfavorable circumstances.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralized response as a pandemic second‐best: The case of Russia

Maltsev

2023

Southern Economic Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Does Alcohol Matter? Public Health in Russia and the Baltic Countries Before, During, and after the Transition

Reitan¹

2000

Contemporary Drug Problems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since the mid-1980s public health in Russia and the Baltic countries has shown vast fluctuations. After a notable improvement during the second half of the 1980s, the early 1990s saw a dramatic deterioration with soaring mortality rates. This article describes some particularities of this rise and fall in public health, primarily concerning age, gender and cause of death, which have been remarkably similar in all four countries. The article identifies three phases in the development in alcohol policy and alcohol consumption, and in public health as such, during the past 15 years. There are many questions and few definite answers concerning the driving forces behind the recent public health turbulence, but developments are frequently related to two important events: the anti-alcohol campaign during the 1980s, and the economic and political transition following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the public health crisis is a result of unique historical experiences, there are general lessons to be learned, and the similarity in trends is noteworthy. Moreover, internationalization will enhance a certain convergence in consumption patterns and policy responses in the future, although local provisions will ensure a certain diversity in policies.

show abstract

Operasjonen var mislykket, men pasientenöverlevde. Den siste sovjetiske alkohol-kampanjen og dens blandede ettermaele

Reitan

2000

SoFo

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Health Care in the USSR

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Decentralized response as a pandemic second‐best: The case of Russia

Decentralized response as a pandemic second‐best: The case of Russia

Does Alcohol Matter? Public Health in Russia and the Baltic Countries Before, During, and after the Transition

Operasjonen var mislykket, men pasientenöverlevde. Den siste sovjetiske alkohol-kampanjen og dens blandede ettermaele

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About