Chronic diseases and labour resources: “Old and new” European Union member states

Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disabilities in the EU with the large impact on productivity and labour markets. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the spatial diversification of chronic diseases and its consequences for national labour markets in the “old and new” EU countries. The study use indices that determine the number of the years of life lost (YLL) as a result of premature death and the estimated number of potential years of life lost to disability (YLD) to assess the scale of the burden on labour resources with the consequences of chronic diseases. Attention was paid to the identification of the reaction model of “new” EU member states which will allow one to define the convergence degree of the EU area in this scope. In 2016, the average value of the YLL index in the group of the EU-CEE states was 151.1 per 1 thousand of people aged 15-69. This gives a result that is higher than the average level observed in the EU-15 group by over 67 years. The study shows the urgent need to address the issue of poorer health outcomes of economically active populations of the “new member states” in relation to eliminating the productivity lost and negative labour market consequences. Received: March, 2020 1st Revision: June, 2020 Accepted: December, 2020 DOI: 10.14254/20718330.2021/14-1/9 Journal of International Studies S ci en ti fi c P a pe rs © Foundation of International Studies, 2021 © CSR, 2021 Journal of International Studies Vol.14, No.1, 2021 130