Mortality trends in former Soviet Republics differ substantially among countries. While these trends have been well-documented for Russia and other northern former Soviet Republics, little is known about countries located in the southern tier of the region. To begin to fill this gap, Duthé et al. (2017) present evidence from Georgia and Armenia and compare it with countries which we know more about, namely Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Results show that Armenia and Georgia have similar levels of adult mortality as Kyrgystan.

Better health is not often the first consequence of unemployment benefits that comes to mind. New research suggests it shouldn’t be the last, though. In a recent study, Jonathan Cylus and Mauricio Avendano find that those out of work who received unemployment benefits were healthier than comparable unemployed people who did not. Good health is a fundamental policy goal everywhere, so, like any policy area, the health dimension of unemployment benefits deserves some attention.