A comparative study, using pairs of countries to identify the reasons for the presence / absence of an effective policy response, and to identify elements of public policy that would alleviate the health impact of social transformation.

This project will be led by Prof G A Cornia, University of Florence, Italy.

Objectives the project include: " To review the literature on social upheavals and health; " To document and analyse new and old (but ignored) socio-economic upheavals; " To examine their features (frequency, suddenness, unexpectedness and health impact); " To understand the main pathways of transmission of the upheavals on health; " To test such explanatory models on 4-5 'pairs of countries' affected by social shocks; " To discuss measures that can sustain human welfare on occasion of social upheavals; " To identify the political factors that trigger policy response in countries affected by upheavals.