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Global Infant Mortality: Correcting for Undercounting

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  • Anthopolos, Rebecca
  • Becker, Charles M.

Abstract

Summary The UN Millennium Development Goals highlight the infant mortality rate (IMR) as a measure of progress in improving neonatal health and more broadly as an indicator of basic health care. However, prior research has shown that IMRs (and in particular perinatal mortality) can be underestimated dramatically, depending on a particular country's live birth criterion, vital registration system, and reporting practices. This study assesses infant mortality undercounting for a global dataset using an approach popularized in productivity economics. Using a one-sided error, frontier estimation technique, we recalculate rates and concurrently derive a measure of likely undercount for each country.

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  • Anthopolos, Rebecca & Becker, Charles M., 2010. "Global Infant Mortality: Correcting for Undercounting," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 467-481, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:38:y:2010:i:4:p:467-481
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    2. Cheng Li & Hong Mi, 2021. "Assessments of provincial mortality in China’s 2010 population census based on the Developing Countries Mortality Database model life table," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 169-196, June.
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    5. Kirill Zhirkov & Ronald F. Inglehart, 2019. "Human Security And Religious Change: An Analysis Of 65 Societies Across 1981–2014," HSE Working papers WP BRP 92/SOC/2019, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    6. Jeffrey Kouton & Rafiou R. Bétila & Moïse Lawin, 2021. "The Impact of ICT Development on Health Outcomes in Africa: Does Economic Freedom Matter?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(4), pages 1830-1869, December.
    7. Resul Cesur & Erdal Tekin & Aydogan Ulker, 2017. "Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(600), pages 330-362, March.
    8. Lungu, Eric & Rozelle, Jeffrey W. & Smith-Greenaway, Emily, 2025. "Fatalism or vigilance? Exposure to infant and maternal deaths and subsequent use of maternal health services in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    9. Rebeca Echavarri, 2022. "Neonatal discrimination and excess female mortality in childhood in Spain in the first half of the twentieth century," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 16(1), pages 79-104, January.
    10. Brock, Gregory & Jin, Yinghua & Zeng, Tong, 2015. "Fiscal decentralization and China's regional infant mortality," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 175-188.
    11. Robert M. Gonzalez & Donna Gilleskie, 2017. "Infant Mortality Rate as a Measure of a Country’s Health: A Robust Method to Improve Reliability and Comparability," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(2), pages 701-720, April.
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    13. Cesur, Resul & Gunes, Pinar Mine & Tekin, Erdal & Ulker, Aydogan, 2015. "The Value of Socialized Medicine: The Impact of Universal Primary Healthcare Provision on Birth and Mortality Rates in Turkey," IZA Discussion Papers 9329, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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