Determinants of fertility and child mortality in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana

Benefo, Kofi D.; Schultz, T. Paul

doi:10.1596/0-8213-2789-5

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…We extend this insight, highlighting two distinct ways that the contextual prevalence of polygyny may be associated with infant mortality above and beyond children’s own family structure. First, the association may be spurious: the correlation between polygyny and infant mortality may be driven by the fact that polygyny is most common in the poorest, least developed areas of sub-Saharan Africa (Boserup 1985; Jacoby 1995), where the disease burden is high and access to healthcare is limited (Benefo and Schultz 1994; Sastry 1996). Second, if widespread polygyny reflects accentuated institutionalized gender inequalities (Agadjanian and Ezeh 2000; Goody 1973; White and Burton 1988), the broader cultural milieu may produce a direct association between the contextual prevalence of polygyny and infant mortality (Bose 2011; Kravdal 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polygynous Contexts, Family Structure, and Infant Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Smith‐Greenaway

Trinitapoli

2014

Demography

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Contextual characteristics influence infant mortality above and beyond family-level factors. The widespread practice of polygyny is one feature of many sub-Saharan African contexts that may be relevant to understanding patterns of infant mortality. Building on evidence that the prevalence of polygyny reflects broader economic, social, and cultural features, and has implications for how families engage in the practice, we investigate whether and how the prevalence of polygyny (1) spills over to elevate infant mortality for all families, and (2) conditions the survival disadvantage for children living in polygynous families (i.e., compared to monogamous families). We use data from Demographic and Health Surveys to estimate multilevel hazard models that identify associations between infant mortality and region-level prevalence of polygyny among 236,336 children in 260 subnational regions across 29 sub-Saharan African countries. We find little evidence that the prevalence of polygyny influences mortality for infants in non-polygynous households net of region-level socioeconomic factors and gender inequality. However, the prevalence of polygyny significantly amplifies the survival disadvantage for infants in polygynous families. Our findings demonstrate that considering the broader marital context reveals important insights into the relationship between family structure and child wellbeing.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polygynous Contexts, Family Structure, and Infant Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Smith‐Greenaway

Trinitapoli

2014

Demography

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“…Health outcomes are affected by a wide range of factors, pertaining to the individual, social and environmental context. In addition, preventive and curative health services are direct inputs that affect an individual's health status and the ability to cope with ill health (Benefo and Schulz, 1994).…”

Section: Introduction and The Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the Cointegrating Relationship between Health Care Expenditure and Economic Growth in Nigeria

Odubunmi¹,

Saka²,

Oke³

2012

IJEF

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This paper examined the relationship between health care expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria for the period 1970-2009. We employed the multivariate cointegration technique proposed by Johansen and found the existence of at least one cointegrating vector describing a long run relationship among economic growth, foreign aids, health expenditure, total saving and population. This is further confirmed by the Hassen Parameter instability test. The cointegrating equation however shows some deviations in terms of the signs of the coefficients of foreign aids and health expenditure which partly may be attributed to some diversification of foreign aids to other uses or that the allocation to health services is grossly inadequate. It is therefore suggested that an appreciable proportion of the national budget be allocated to the health care services to have a more robust health care programmes capable of fostering economic growth in Nigeria.

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“…Therefore, GDP per capita is a reasonable proxy for economic development. Benefo and Schultz (1994) point out that economic theories of the fertility decision do not predict whether household income will increase or decrease fertility. There may be competing income and substitution effects, the strength of which hinge on the source of the household income (wife, husband, other family member, or property).…”

Section: Environment and Development Economics 171mentioning

confidence: 98%

The island and small-country effects on fertility

Horowitz¹,

Whittington²

2001

Envir. Dev. Econ.

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The total fertility rate is lower in island nations than non-island nations, and in small land-area nations than large land-area nations. Because islands tend to be much smaller than non-islands, these phenomena raise the question of whether there are two distinct effects or two manifestations of a single effect. This paper uses 1990 cross-sectional data on 198 countries to estimate the independent effects of islands and land-area on fertility. We find evidence that there are two separate effects. One possible explanation for the island and small-country fertility effects can be drawn from the theory of the commons, but another possible explanation is offered by the new theory of economic growth. We explore each of these possible explanations and conclude that the smallcountry effect is consistent with new theories of economic growth while the island effect is likely the result of a 'commons effect'.

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Determinants of fertility and child mortality in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana

Cited by 21 publications

References 13 publications

Polygynous Contexts, Family Structure, and Infant Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Polygynous Contexts, Family Structure, and Infant Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Testing the Cointegrating Relationship between Health Care Expenditure and Economic Growth in Nigeria

The island and small-country effects on fertility

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