Health And Economic Development In South Eastern Europe

The economic benefits to be gained from investment in public health are increasingly being recognised, as well as its importance for social cohesion, and these objectives play a central role in the European Union's Lisbon agenda. This study seeks to demonstrate the economic importance of the health sector for the countries of south-eastern Europe, by examining trends and patterns of disease burden and socioeconomic inequalities in health, the development of health systems and health policies, as well as options for policy development in order to meet future health challenges in the region.

Health is increasingly seen as a robust predictor of economic growth. In the present report the contribution of health to economic development is examined in the context of south-eastern Europe, where the dynamics of health cooperation gained momentum following the Second Ministerial Health Forum co-organized by the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Council of Europe and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, with the special participation of ministers of finance. The report presents the socioeconomic context and the evolution of the health sector. It examines the trends and patterns observable in the areas of disease burden and socioeconomic inequalities in health, and the development of the health systems and policies as well as the way they should evolve in order to meet the future specific health challenges. The report demonstrates the economic importance of health for the countries of south-eastern Europe. Health, as a human capital ingredient, is especially relevant for sustained economic development and social cohesion. These two political objectives figure prominently on the EU agenda and play a central role in the European Union's Lisbon agenda.

The collapse of communism in Central, East and South-East Europe (CESEE) led to great hopes for the region and for Europe. A quarter of a century on, the picture is mixed: in many CESEE countries, the transformation process is incomplete, and the economic catch-up has taken longer than anticipated. The current situation has highlighted the need for a better understanding of the long-term political and economic implications of the Central, East and South-East European historical experience. This thematically organised text offers a clear and comprehensive guide to the economic history of CESEE from 1800 to the present day. Bringing together authors from both East and West, the book also draws on the cutting-edge research of a new generation of scholars from the CESEE region. Presenting a thoroughly modern overview of the history of the region, the text will be invaluable to students of economic history and CESEE area studies.

This report is the first comprehensive effort to analyse the economic impact of ill health in the CEE-CIS (Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States) Region. This book explores the interdependence of health and economic development, focusing on the Region's significant economic burden of ill health.

Fifty years ago, health outcomes in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia were not far behind those in Western Europe and well ahead of most other regions of the world. But progress since then has been slow. While life expectancy in the ECA region today is close to the global average, the gap with its western neighbors has doubled, and other middle-income regions have all surpassed ECA. Some countries in the region are doing better, but full convergence with the world’s most advanced health systems is still a long way off. At the same time, survey evidence suggests that the health sector is the top priority for additional investment among populations across the region. The experience of high-income countries also suggests that popular demand for strong and accessible health systems will only grow over time. Yet these aspirations must be reconciled with current fiscal realities. In brief, health sector issues are a challenge here to stay for policy-makers across the ECA region. This report draws on new evidence to explore the development challenge facing health sectors in ECA, and highlights three key agendas to help policy-makers seeking to achieve more rapid convergence with the world’s best performing health systems. The first is the health agenda, where the task is to strengthen public health and primary care interventions to help launch the “cardiovascular revolution” that has taken place in the West in recent decades. The second is the financing agenda, in which growing demand for medical care must be satisfied without imposing undue burden on households or government budgets. The third agenda relates to broader institutional arrangements. Here there are some key reform ingredients common to most advanced health systems that are still missing in many ECA countries. A common theme in each of these three agendas is the emphasis on improving outcomes, or “Getting Better”.

Reform of the welfare sector is an important yet difficult challenge for all countries in transition from socialist central planning to market-oriented democracies. Here a scholar of the economics of socialism and post-socialist transition and a health economist take on this challenge. This 2001 book offers health sector reform recommendations for ten countries of Eastern Europe, drawn consistently from a set of explicit guiding principles. After discussing sector-specific characteristics, lessons of international experience, and the main set of initial conditions, the authors advocate reforms based on organized public financing for basic care, private financing for supplementary care, pluralistic delivery of services, and managed competition. Policymakers need to achieve a balance, both assuring social solidarity through universal access to basic health services and expanding individual choice and responsibility through voluntary supplemental insurance. The authors also consider the problems that undermine effectiveness of market-based competition in the health sector.

Over the last two decades the countries of South East Europe have engaged in far-reaching reforms of their health systems. However, overviews of reform efforts in this part of Europe have been sorely lacking. This book addresses this shortage through the analysis of key aspects of health reforms and health workforce mobility in South East Europe.

A significant portion of the population in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region are either in poor health or disabled. This research shows that the linkages between disability and economic and social outcomes of interest tend to be stronger in transition countries when compared with industrialized countries. Reasons for this trend include the prevalence of a large informal sector in many developing countries, relatively weak targeting performance of social assistance programs (especially in poor transition countries), and unavailability of broad based insurance mechanisms to protect individuals against loss of income due to unexpected illness.