What explains the Rural-Urban Gap in Infant Mortality — Household or Community Characteristics?

Arbeitspapier

The rural-urban gap in infant mortality rates is explained using a new decomposition method that permits identification of the ontribution of unobserved heterogeneity at the household and the community level. Using Demographic and Health Survey data for six Francophone countries in Western Sub-Saharan Africa, we find that differences in the distributions of factors that determine mortality – not differences in their effects – explain almost the entire gap. Higher infant mortality rates in rural areas mainly derive from the rural disadvantage in household level characteristics; both observed and unobserved, which explain three-quarters of the gap. Among the observed characteristics, household environmental factors—potable water, electricity and quality of housing materials—are the most important contributors explaining 38% of the gap. Unobserved household level determinants explain 10% of the gap. Community level determinants explain 13% of the gap, including 3% that is due to unobservable community level heterogeneity.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper ; No. 07-067/3

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health Behavior ; General Welfare; Well-Being ; Economywide Country Studies: Asia including Middle East
• Subject: Sub-Saharan Africa ; rural-urban inequality ; infant mortality ; decomposition ; unobserved heterogeneity ; Kindersterblichkeit ; Räumliche Verteilung ; Dekompositionsverfahren ; Afrika südlich der Sahara

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): van de Poel, Ellen ; O'Donnell, Owen ; Doorslaer, Eddy Van
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Tinbergen Institute
• (where): Amsterdam and Rotterdam
• (when): 2007

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/86483
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET