Shafqat Shehzad
2004

Abstract

The study
explores the determinants of infant and child mortality using aggregate
data from the sources of the World Bank for sixty-five developing
countries. The objective is to identify the process through which
certain developing countries have achieved enormous success in reducing
mortality rates despite having lower per capita income than Pakistan.
The cross-country comparison estimates various functional forms and
tackles the problems of heteroscedasticity and endogeniety. A
decomposition analysis shows the relative contribution of various
factors responsible for Pakistan’s higher than average infant and child
mortality rates. The results show that substantial reductions in infant
and child mortality rates can be achieved through advancements in female
education. Although, there is a causal relationship between income and
mortality, the significant impact of income becomes less important than
female education when factors are decomposed. 

Key words: Infant and child mortality, decomposition analysis, income and education. JEL Classification: I12