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Demographic and socioeconomic factors affecting infant mortality in Egypt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Hassan Y. Aly
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Ohio State University, Marion, Ohio, USA

Summary

This paper analyses the relative importance of demographic and socioeconomic factors with respect to their role in reducing infant mortality in Egypt.

Logit analyses of data from a nationally representative sample of Egyptian households, and for urban and rural households separately, indicate that demographic factors have more effect on infant mortality than socioeconomic factors. The results also show the need to improve housing in urban areas and sewerage systems in rural areas in order to reduce infant mortality. One of the most important policy conclusions, however, concerns the importance of providing a vigorous educational campaign to enlighten mothers and prospective mothers in both rural and urban areas on the positive effects of breast-feeding, longer birth intervals, and fewer children on the survival of infants.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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References

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