Birth spacing and neonatal mortality in India: Dynamics, frailty and fecundity

S. Bhalotra, A.H.O. van Soest

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

96 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Using microdata on 30,000 child births in India and dynamic panel data models, we analyze causal effects of birth spacing on subsequent neonatal mortality and of mortality on subsequent birth intervals, controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. Right censoring is accounted for by jointly estimating a fertility equation, identified by using data on sterilization. We find evidence of frailty, fecundity, and causal effects in both directions. Birth intervals explain only a limited share of the correlation between neonatal mortality of successive children in a family. We predict that for every neonatal death, 0.37 additional children are born, of whom 0.30 survive.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)274-290
JournalJournal of Econometrics
Volume143
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 2008

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