Federico Caffe Lectures: Welfare, Choice and Solidarity in Transition: Reforming the Health Sector in Eastern Europe

Reform of the welfare sector is an important yet difficult challenge for 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. They offer health sector reform recommendations for ten countries of Eastern Europe, drawn from nine guiding principles. The authors conclude that 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.

"Highly readable..." Slavic Review

"The authors' intrinsic knowledge of the political economy of transition countries, their profound understanding of the historic context of the region, and their comprehensive approach to this rather complex topic make the work especially valuable for decisionmakers and opinion leaders in Eastern Europe, the book fills a considerable void...Kornai and Eggleston have gone beyond simply writing about health reform-in fact, they have created a new framework on how to think about health reform in Eastern Europe...This book succeeds in dissecting many of these issues and gives the reader a number of provocative insights into the health care challenges of the coming decade in Eastern Europe." Health Affairs Nov/Dec 01