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Impact of sanitation, safe drinking water and health expenditure on infant mortality rate in developing economies

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  • Zhou Lu
  • Jayatilleke S. Bandara
  • Sudharshan Reddy Paramati

Abstract

Despite of significant growth in all walks of life, the issue of infant mortality still a major concern in most of the developing economies. The World Development Indicators have reported that 4.45 million infants died across the globe in 2015, meaning that 32 deaths per every 1,000 live births. A number of times, the World Health Organization (WHO) have stressed the significance of sanitation, safe drinking water and healthcare facilities in reducing infant mortality rate, though most developing countries still lacks in these services. Given this background, the present study aims to examine the role of sanitation, water facilities and health expenditure on infant mortality rate across a panel of 84 developing economies using annual data from 1995 to 2013. The study also account for per capita income and depth of food deficiency as the control factors in the model. The findings of this study establish a significant long‐run equilibrium association among the variables. The long‐run elasticities on infant mortality suggest that improved water and sanitation facilities, health expenditure and per capita income substantially reduce infant mortality rate, while food deficiency increases. Given these findings, we suggest that increasing access to improved water, sanitation and healthcare facilities will significantly reduce child mortality in developing economies around the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou Lu & Jayatilleke S. Bandara & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati, 2020. "Impact of sanitation, safe drinking water and health expenditure on infant mortality rate in developing economies," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 13-33, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausecp:v:59:y:2020:i:1:p:13-33
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8454.12167
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    1. Junpeng Li & Puneet Vatsa & Wanglin Ma, 2024. "Flush toilet use and its impact on health and non‐health expenditures," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(4), pages 2022-2046, May.
    2. Jeet Saha & Zafar Iqubal, 2026. "Empirical Evidence on the Grand Convergence of Infant Mortality Rates," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 19(1), pages 181-204, February.
    3. David Moroz & Amandine Laré & Navaneetham Subramaniam & Cuthbert Madzivanyika, 2026. "Mapping the research landscape on SDG 6: A bibliometric analysis," Post-Print hal-05565866, HAL.
    4. Junpeng Li & Wanglin Ma & Huanyu Zhu, 2024. "A systematic literature review of factors influencing the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 1-38, January.
    5. Muhammad Tariq Majeed & Tania Luni, 2026. "Assessing the Effects of Water Quality on Population Health Outcomes: Does the Level of Economic Development Matter?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 17(2), pages 4175-4212, April.

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