Comparing relative effects of education and economic resources on infant mortality in developing countries

• Published in: Population and development review 2011-12, Vol.37 (4), p.637-664
• Main Authors: Pamuk, Elsie R., Fuchs, Regina, Lutz, Wolfgang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bildungsabschluss; Communities; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Demographic research; demography; Determinants; Developing Countries; Developing Countries - economics; Developing Countries - history; Economic Factors; Economic models; Economic resources; Economics; Education; Education - economics; Education - history; Educational attainment; Entwicklungsland; Family; Family - ethnology; Family - history; Family - psychology; Health Policy - economics; Health Policy - history; Health Policy - legislation & jurisprudence; Health Priorities - economics; Health Priorities - history; Health Priorities - legislation & jurisprudence; Health Problems; History of medicine; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Household wealth; Humans; income; Indexes (Measures); Infant; Infant Mortality; Infant Mortality - ethnology; Infant Mortality - history; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Kindersterblichkeit; LDCs; Level of education; Marriage and Family Education; Mothers; Per capita income; Public health; Residence Characteristics - history; Reviews; Secondary Education; Social Class - history; Socioeconomic Factors - history; Socioeconomic Status; Socioeconomics; Vermögen (Wirtsch); Wealth; Womens education
• ISSN: 1728-4457; 0098-7921; 1728-4457
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2011.00451.x

Research on the social determinants of health has often considered education and economic resources as separate indicators of socioeconomic status. From a policy perspective, however, it is important to understand the relative strength of the effect of these social factors on health outcomes, particularly in developing countries. It is also important to examine not only the impact of education and economic resources of individuals, but also whether community and country levels of these factors affect health outcomes. This analysis uses multilevel regression models to assess the relative effects of education and economic resources on infant mortality at the family, community, and country level using data from Demographic and Health Surveys in 43 lowand lower-middle-income countries. We find strong effects for both per capita gross national income and completed secondary education at the country level, but a greater impact of education within families and communities.