INFANT MORTALITY IN URUGUAY: THE EFFECT OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ON SURVIVAL

This paper analyzes infant mortality in a unique and highly-detailed data set from Uruguay. A duration model is employed to estimate the relationships between infant mortality and socioeconomic status at the individual, household, and community level. Our results indicate that the most important pre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of developing areas Vol. 48; no. 2; pp. 307 - 328
Main Authors Jewell, R. Todd, Martinez, Jose, Triunfo, Patricia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Nashville College of Business TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY 01.04.2014
Tennessee State University College of Business
Tennessee State University
Journal of Developing Areas
Subjects
Analysis
Babies
Birth
Births
Child development
Developed countries
Developing countries
Economic conditions
Economic development
Education
Educational attainment
Formal education
GDP
Gender
Gross Domestic Product
Households
Human capital
Infant mortality
Infant mortality rates
Infants
Infectious diseases
Labor market
LDCs
Life expectancy
Low income groups
Macroeconomics
Malaria
Marital status
Mortality
Mothers
Patient outcomes
Population
Public health
Rural areas
Social classes
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic status
Socioeconomics
Studies
Survival analysis
Urban areas
Uruguay
Uruguay
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Summary:This paper analyzes infant mortality in a unique and highly-detailed data set from Uruguay. A duration model is employed to estimate the relationships between infant mortality and socioeconomic status at the individual, household, and community level. Our results indicate that the most important predictors of infant survival in the first year of life are a full gestational period, mother's educational attainment, marital status (a proxy for family wealth), and the type of hospital used for delivery. We also find that the region where the mother resides (a proxy for community wealth), whether or not the delivery was a multiple delivery, and the gender of the infant are strong predictors of infant mortality in Uruguay. In light of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the results presented in this paper suggest that policies designed to increase women's education and to decrease out-of-wedlock births can substantially improve infant health in less-developed countries.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0022-037X
1548-2278
1548-2278
DOI:10.1353/jda.2014.0027