Authors: David Stuckler Sanjay Basu
A special thanks goes to Molly Crockett for her extraordinary assistance in editing and revising the manuscript. We are also grateful to Michelle Spring for introducing us to the world of trade publishing and helping us to craft the initial book proposal. We are particularly thankful to Shah Ebrahim
and Fiona Taylor for giving us refuge in Delhi during the final stages of this writing.
David would additionally like to thank his parents, Danny and Margit, and his sister, Michelle, for their unwavering support. His research has benefited from the insights and direction of Mary Ridgway, Lowell Levin, Mark Schlesinger, Larry King, Paul Schultz, Christopher Meissner, and especially Martin McKee. Thanks to the continued support and friendship of Chris Lockamy, Elizabeth Rush, and Louis Caron.
Sanjay would also like to thank his parents for always encouraging him to “read, read, read, read everything” (as per Faulkner), and his mentors Christine Balone for teaching him to write, Lee Marek for the gift of science, Rudolph Tanzi for the experimental spirit, and Noam Chomsky for being the quintessence of the public intellectual. Special thanks to Paul Farmer for always humbly bestowing on him the lessons of social justice; Jim Yong Kim for teaching him how to pick the right battles; Joseph Dumit for insights on academia; and Anita Desai, Alan Lightman, and Jean Jackson for the gift of the pen. For their mentorship in medicine and epidemiology, thanks to Rick Altice, R. Douglas Bruce, Gerald Friedland, Edward Kaplan, Sharad Jain, Stanton Glantz, Robert Lustig and Jack Farquhar. Thanks to John Ioannidis for role-modeling the ideal of a critical scientist, and for everyone at the Stanford Prevention Research Center for their family spirit and passion in the pursuit of public health. Thanks to the continued support and friendship of Jason Andrews, C. Brandon Ogbunagafor, Jay Varellas, Russell Bither-Terry, Sandeep Kishore, Amy Kapczynski, Gregg Gonsalves, Duncan Smith-Rohrberg Maru and the Nyaya Health team. For their encouragement and constructive criticism in writing, thanks as well to Sandy Close, Viji Sundaram, Richard Rodriguez and the folks at New America Media. And thanks most of all to Palav Babaria, the love of my life, who forgave many sleepless nights, and who always provides a critical lifeline of grounded insight, encouragement and partnership.
This book would not have been possible without the dedication of an incredible editorial team. Thanks to Lara Heimert at Basic Books for her “fierce but loving” edits to strengthen our manuscript, to Norman MacAfee for his indelible camaraderie and eleventh-hour marathon editing sessions, and to Thomas Penn at Penguin for his intellectual spirit, vast historical knowledge, and keen eye for detail. We are very grateful for support from Katy O'Donnell
and the team at Basic at every step of the book's development; Karen Browning and the team at Penguin for their support to produce the book; and Iris Tupholme and the HarperCollins crew for their coordination and wisdom. Thanks finally to Patrick Walsh and his team at Conville and Walsh for being the most supportive agency a new pair of authors could hope for.
Alcohol consumption,
xvii
,
18â19
,
70â71
,
130
Alcohol-related deaths,
13â14
,
19
,
25â27
,
36
Aliber, Robert,
60
ALMP (Active Labor Market Program) protective effect,
114â121
,
144
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,
126
,
142
Arrow, Kenneth,
101
Assumed fiscal multiplier errors,
64â65
,
92
Austerity
    Â
defined,
ix
    Â
the democratic option to,
66â67
,
71
,
74
,
93
,
142â143
    Â
failure of,
140
    Â
Great Recession experiment in,
ixâx
,
140
    Â
New New Deal program response,
143â145
    Â
personal impact, stories of,
xviiâxviii
,
3â4
,
91
,
94
,
97â98
,
110
Bahr, Daniel,
93
Bakersfield,
123â125
,
126
,
137
,
145
Baltic states recession (1990s),
118â119
Belarus post-Soviet gradualist policy,
31
,
32â33
,
35
,
36
Bevan, Aneurin,
108
Beveridge, William,
141
Body economic,
xxâxxi,
139
,
142â143
Body politic, defined,
139
Braly, Angela,
101
Brown, Gordon,
69
Bush, George W.,
136
Byrne, Peter,
112
California Encephalitis Project (CEP),
124
,
136â137
,
145
Cameron, David,
ix
,
3
,
5
,
19
,
106
,
140
Campaniello, Giuseppe,
109â110
Cardiovascular disease,
25â26
,
36
,
68
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
124
,
136
,
144
Children, impact of austerity on,
50
,
129
China,
40
Christoulas, Dimitris,
xviiâxviii
,
94
Clegg, Nick,
106
Czech Republic post-Soviet gradualist policy,
28
,
33
Deming, W.,
142
the democratic option,
66â67
,
71
,
74
,
93
,
142â143
Denmark,
119
Depression,
69
,
112â114
,
115
,
127
Donovan, Neil,
128â129
Dublin, Louis,
7
East Asia economic growth (1980s),
42â44
East Asian crisis (1990s)
    Â
economic impacts of austerity,
43
,
46
,
48
    Â
health impacts of austerity,
46
,
48â50
    Â
IMF austerity requirements,
45
    Â
roots of,
43
    Â
social impacts,
44
,
142
    Â
welfare protection countries, impacts on,
46â47
,
50â53
Eastern Europe recession 1990s,
118â119
Economic impacts
    Â
of foreclosure threat,
127â128
    Â
of gradual vs. rapid privatization,
22
,
32â35
,
37
,
40
    Â
of Shock Therapy,
32
,
35
    Â
of stimulus,
xiiâxiii
,
46
,
52
,
140â142
Economic impacts of austerity
    Â
deficit reduction and recovery,
xiiâxiii
,
5â6
,
88
,
93
    Â
globally,
140â141
    Â
homelessness, costs of,
126â127
,
132â134
    Â
medical care for individuals,
3â4
,
48
,
98
    Â
public health budget cuts,
78
,
85â89
,
91â92
,
107
    Â
unemployment,
81
,
87
,
120
Estonia,
28
European Central Bank,
78
,
80
,
92
European Commission,
78
European financial crisis,
4â5
,
58
Federal Emergency Relief Act,
15
Finland,
111
,
115
,
118â119
,
121
,
135
Food Stamp Program,
15
Ford Hunger March/Massacre,
14â15
,
142
Foreclosure crisis.
See also
Great Recession
(US, 2007â2009)
    Â
United Kingdom,
131â134
    Â
United States,
123â131
,
136â137
Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries,
28â29
,
31â35
Friedman, Samuel R.,
89
Gaidar, Yegor,
29
Galbraith, James,
93
Gkezerva, Zoi,
91
God Bless Iceland
(Felixson),
62
,
73
Gorbachev, Mikhail,
25â26
,
29
,
31
,
37
Gradual privatization policy effects,
28
,
32â36
,
40
Great Depression,
6â16
Great Recession (US, 2007â2009).
See also
New Deal
    Â
austerity response,
xvii
,
100
,
142
    Â
banking sector rescue packages,
4â5
    Â
deferral of essential medical care, due to inability to pay,
97â101
,
127
    Â
foreclosure crisis,
123â131
,
136â137
    Â
health insurance company profits,
101â102
    Â
Medicaid enrollment growth,
100
    Â
mental health,
112â113
    Â
mortality rates,
xix
,
18â19
,
99
,
103
    Â
personal stories,
xâxi,
xvii
    Â
roots of,
6
    Â
suicide rates,
xix
,
12
,
110â111
,
112
Greece
    Â
corruption, pre-crisis,
81
,
84
    Â
economic recovery,
75
    Â
economy, pre-crisis,
79â81
    Â
financial crisis roots of,
79â81
    Â
IMF recovery plan,
84â85
    Â
suicides, pre-crisis,
xix
Greece, financial crisis austerity response
    Â
bailout funds, misuse of,
92
    Â
corruption and the,
85
    Â
democracy, suspension of,
78
,
83
,
87â88
    Â
economic impacts,
78
,
81â82
,
85â89
,
91â92
,
107
    Â
Germany's insistence on,
94
    Â
health impacts,
xiv
,
xviiâxviii
,
xix
,
77â78
,
83â91