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Biomedical subjects

Vicente Navarro

Publications and source records attributed to Vicente Navarro.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Politics and health outcomes.

The aim of this study was to examine the complex interactions between political traditions, policies, and public health outcomes, and to find out whether different political traditions have been associated with systematic patterns in population health over time. We analysed a number of political, economic, social, and health variables over a 50-year period, in a set of wealthy countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Our findings support the hypothesis that the political ideologies of governing parties affect some indicators of population health. Our analysis makes an empirical link between politics and policy, by showing that political parties with egalitarian ideologies tend to implement redistributive policies. An important finding of our research is that policies aimed at reducing social inequalities, such as welfare state and labour market policies, do seem to have a salutary effect on the selected health indicators, infant mortality and life expectancy at birth.

Canada↗
PubMed2005

Economic efficiency versus social equality? The U.S. liberal model versus the European social model.

This article begins by challenging the widely held view in neoliberal discourse that there is a necessary trade-off between higher efficiency and lower reduction of inequalities: the article empirically shows that the liberal, U.S. model has been less efficient economically (slower economic growth, higher unemployment) than the social model in existence in the European Union and in the majority of its member states. Based on the data presented, the authors criticize the adoption of features of the liberal model (such as deregulation of their labor markets, reduction of public social expenditures) by some European governments. The second section analyzes the causes for the slowdown of economic growth and the increase of unemployment in the European Union--that is, the application of monetarist and neoliberal policies in the institutional frame of the European Union, including the Stability Pact, the objectives and modus operandi of the European Central Bank, and the very limited resources available to the European Commission for stimulating and distributive functions. The third section details the reasons for these developments, including (besides historical considerations) the enormous influence of financial capital in the E.U. institutions and the very limited democracy. Proposals for change are included.

Economics↗
PubMed2004

The politics of health inequalities research in the United States.

In this article, based on a speech to the European Association of Health Policy, the author discusses the political context in which health inequalities research has historically operated in the United States. The discussion focuses on the limitations of research that uses income, consumption, and status as the primary categories of research practice, and demonstrates these limitations by critically analyzing The Health of Nations (by Kawachi and Kennedy). The author concludes that it is essential to use categories of analysis that focus on class relations as well as race and gender relations and their reproduction through the international and national institutions, to study their impact on the health and well-being of populations.

Gender Identity↗
PubMed2004

The world health situation.

This article, based on a speech given at the Sixth IUHP European Conference on Health Promotion and Education, describes the consequences of the concentration of economic, political, and cultural power in the world today (in the countries of both North and South) for the health and well-being of the world population. The author stresses that the current world disorder is based on a set of alliances between the dominant classes (and economic and financial groups) of the North and the dominant classes (and groups) of the South against redistributional policies that would adversely affect their interests. This situation hurts the health and well-being of the dominated classes and other social groups of both North and South.

Culture↗
PubMed2004

Is globalization undermining the welfare state? The evolution of the welfare state in developed capitalist countries during the 1990s.

The authors analyze the evolution of macro-indicators of social and economic well-being during the 1990s in the majority of developed capitalist countries, grouped according to their dominant political traditions since the end of World War II. Their analysis shows that, despite the economic globalization of commerce and finance, "politics still matters" in explaining the evolution of the welfare states and labor markets in these countries; the impact of the globalization of financial capital in forcing reductions in the financial resources available for welfare state purposes has been exaggerated.

Developed Countries↗
PubMed2003

Policy without politics: the limits of social engineering.

The extent of coverage provided by a country's health services is directly related to the level of development of that country's democratic process (and its power relations). The United States is the only developed country whose government does not guarantee access to health care for its citizens. It is also the developed country with the least representative and most insufficient democratic institutions, owing to the constitutional framework of the political system, the privatization of the electoral process, and the enormous power of corporate interests in both the media and the political process. As international experience shows, without a strong labor-based movement willing to be radical in its protests, a universal health care program will never be accepted by the US establishment.

Capitalism↗
PubMed2003

Special report on the political and social contexts of health: Part I. Introduction: objectives and purposes of the study.

This article introduces a series of research projects (carried out by the International Network on Social Inequalities and Health) focused on the impact of politics on policy and the consequences for health and quality of life, an area that has been understudied in the social science literature. The introduction describes the conceptual model that guided the research, centered on the study of how political parties and social agents (such as trade unions) affect social inequalities and mortality indicators through labor market and welfare state policies. The major theme of this research is whether political and social interventions matter in health policy and health outcomes. The introduction also describes the different types of research projects carried out by the International Network at the national levels (among OECD countries) and at the regional and local levels (in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Sweden). This Journal issue presents the multinational study and the U.K. case study; the next issue will include the Italian, German, Spanish, and Swedish case studies and the summary and conclusions.

Developed Countries↗
PubMed2003

Power relations and premature mortality in Spain's autonomous communities.

This trends ecological study analyzes, across 17 autonomous communities of Spain from 1989 to 1998, the relationship between mortality (total and by main causes of death) and power relations (type of government: social democratic (SDP), conservative (CDP), and others), labor market variables, welfare state variables, income inequality, absolute income, poverty, and number of civil associations. The authors conducted a descriptive analysis; a bivariate analysis (Pearson correlation coefficients) between mortality and each of the independent variables; and a multivariate analysis, adjusting multilevel linear regression models. All dimensions of the conceptual power relations model were related to premature mortality in the direction hypothesized. The cross-pooled multilevel regression models show that total premature mortality in males, male and female cerebrovascular mortality, male and female cirrhosis mortality, and male lung cancer mortality decreased somewhat more in communities where primary health care reform was implemented more quickly. Premature mortality decreased somewhat more in SDP than in CDP communities for male and female total premature mortality, cerebrovascular mortality, and cirrhosis mortality, and male lung cancer mortality. These results are in accord with earlier studies that found a relationship among health indicators and variables related to labor market, welfare state, income inequalities, civil associations, and power relations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The importance of the political and the social in explaining mortality differentials among the countries of the OECD, 1950-1998.

This article analyzes (within the conceptual frame defined in the previous article) the impact of political variables such as time of government by political parties (social democratic, Christian democratic or conservative, liberal, and ex-dictatorial that have governed the OECD countries during the 1950-1998 period) and their electoral support on (1) redistributional policies in the labor market and in the welfare state; (2) the income inequalities measured by Theil and Gini indexes; and (3) health indicators, such as infant mortality and life expectancy. This analysis is carried out statistically by a bivariate and a multivariate analysis (a pooled cross-sectional study). Both analyses show that political variables play an important role in defining how public and social policies determine the levels of inequalities and affect the level of infant mortality. In general, political parties more committed to redistributional policies, such as social democratic parties, are the most successful in reducing inequalities and improving infant mortality. Less evidence exists, however, on effects on life expectancy. The article also quantifies statistically the relationship between the political and the policy variables and between these variables and the dependent variables--that is, the health indicators.

Developed Countries↗
PubMed2002

A critique of social capital.

This article critiques the concepts of communitarianism and social capital as used in the United States and in Europe. For the United States, the author focuses on Robert Putnam's understanding of both concepts, showing that the apolitical analysis of the Progressive Era, of the progressive developments in Northern Italy, and of the situation of labor unions in the United States is not only insufficient but wrong. The critique also includes the difference between U.S. communitarianism and its European versions, Christian democracy and New Labour, and the limitations of both approaches. The uses and misuses of these concepts in the political debate are discussed.

Capitalism↗