Aggregate income shocks and infant mortality in the developing world
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
8-1-2011
Journal
Review of Economics and Statistics
Volume
93
Issue
3
DOI
10.1162/REST_a_00084
Abstract
Health and income are strongly correlated both within and across countries, yet the extent to which improvements in income have a causal effect on health status remains controversial. We investigate whether short-term fluctuations in aggregate income affect infant mortality using an unusually large data set of 1.7 million births in 59 developing countries. We show a large, negative association between per capita GDP and infant mortality. Female infant mortality is more sensitive than male infant mortality to negative economic shocks, suggesting that policies that protect the health status of female infants may be especially important during economic downturns. © 2011 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
APA Citation
Baird, S., Friedman, J., & Schady, N. (2011). Aggregate income shocks and infant mortality in the developing world. Review of Economics and Statistics, 93 (3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00084