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Maternal education and infant mortality decline: The evidence from Indonesia, 1980–2015
Authors: Jona Schellekens
Source: Demographic Research, Volume 45, Article 24; DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2021.45.24
Topic(s): Employment
Infant mortality
Country: Asia
  Indonesia
Published: SEP 2021
Abstract: Background: Better maternal education has been credited with making a major contribution to infant mortality decline. Most of the evidence is based on cross-sectional analyses, which show a strong correlation between maternal education and infant mortality. However, cross-sectional analyses do not provide an estimate of the contribution of maternal education to infant mortality decline. Objective: The major objective is to obtain a more accurate estimate of the contribution of maternal education to infant mortality decline. Methods: Pooling data from all available phases of the Demographic and Health Survey, this article presents a longitudinal, individual-level analysis of the determinants of trends in infant mortality in Indonesia. Results: Better maternal education explains 15% of the infant mortality decline in Indonesia from 1980 to 2015. Contribution: The article presents the results of the largest individual-level study of its kind in terms of length of the period covered and number of infants involved.
Web: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol45/24/