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Aggregate Income Shocks and Infant Mortality in the Developing World

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah Baird

    (George Washington University)

  • Jed Friedman

    (World Bank)

  • Norbert Schady

    (Inter-American Development Bank)

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 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Baird & Jed Friedman & Norbert Schady, 2011. "Aggregate Income Shocks and Infant Mortality in the Developing World," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(3), pages 847-856, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:93:y:2011:i:3:p:847-856
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Bank, 2007. "World Development Indicators 2007," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 8150, December.
    2. Baird, Sarah & Friedman, Jed & Schady, Norbert, 2007. "Infant mortality over the business cycle in the developing world," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4346, The World Bank.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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