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Explaining the Role of Parental Education in the Regional Variations in Infant Mortality in India

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  • Pradeep Kumar Choudhury

Abstract

Using data from the National Family Health Survey (2005–06), this study examines the effect of parental education and the related factors (mother's exposure to mass media and her socio-economic empowerment) in the regional variations in infant mortality in India. The study finds that parental education is significantly associated with reducing infant mortality to a varying degree at the regional level. It is also evident that children born to mothers having any kind of exposure to the mass media are less likely to die during infancy compared with children born to mothers having no mass media exposure. More importantly, parental education works better in regions that are socio-economically underdeveloped. The findings of the study place emphasis on imparting education to mothers along with mass media exposure and higher level of socio-economic empowerment to reduce infant deaths in India and also to minimise its glaring regional variations.

Suggested Citation

  • Pradeep Kumar Choudhury, 2015. "Explaining the Role of Parental Education in the Regional Variations in Infant Mortality in India," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies 201542, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:een:appswp:201542
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    1. Jayanta Kumar Bora & Rajesh Raushan & Wolfgang Lutz, 2018. "Contribution of Education to Infant and Under-Five Mortality Disparities among Caste Groups in India," VID Working Papers 1803, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    2. Reena Kumari & Rekha Gupta, 2022. "A logistic regression analysis of determinants of child malnutrition in Uttar Pradesh, India," Journal of Community Positive Practices, Catalactica NGO, issue 2, pages 79-98.
    3. Jayanta Kumar Bora & Rajesh Raushan & Wolfgang Lutz, 2019. "The persistent influence of caste on under-five mortality: Factors that explain the caste-based gap in high focus Indian states," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, August.

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    Keywords

    infant mortality; parental education; exposure to mass media; regional variation; India;
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