8 - Mortality

Summary

This chapter looks at the consequences of the CPSU legacies for public policy. We single out one particularly important aspect of it: healthcare and, especially, differences in the mortality rates across regions of Russia. We show that CPSU legacies are associated with higher male mortality and attribute this to poorer performance of the healthcare system due to it inheriting many negative features of the Soviet era. This effect is particularly pronounced in rich regions, where CPSU legacies preclude the development of institutions necessary for solving the modern healthcare challenges of “man-made and age diseases.” In poorer regions, where the main problem for healthcare is the weakening of the old Soviet infrastructure, the CPSU legacy can actually have a positive effect due to the persistence of bureaucratic practices