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Spontaneous commercialisation, inequality and the contradictions of compulsory medical insurance in transitional Russia
Author(s) -
Blam Inna,
Kovalev Sergey
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.1291
Subject(s) - inequality , context (archaeology) , incentive , government (linguistics) , economics , health care , public policy , public health insurance , public economics , economic inequality , sociology , health insurance , economic growth , market economy , geography , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , archaeology
This paper analyses spontaneous commercialisation phenomena in the public health care system of transitional Russia. The authors relate these phenomena to the government's policy of vague declarations of comprehensive universal coverage unsupported by sound financial commitments. The paper provides an analysis of data from two Russian household surveys that confirms the existence of pronounced inequalities across income groups and geographical units, and connects these inequalities to the patterns of commercialisation of health care. The paper identifies the difficulties faced by more equitable policy initiatives in the context of the distorted incentives structures and vested interests generated by spontaneous commercialisation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.