Mother’s formal schooling—even at the primary level—is associated with lower risk of child mortality, although the reasons why remain unclear. This study examines whether mother’s reading skills help to explain the association in Nigeria. Using data from the Demographic and Health...

Although a large literature analyzes the determinants of child mortality and suggests policy and medical interventions aimed at its reduction, there is little existing analysis illuminating the consequences of child mortality for other family members. In particular, there is little evidence...

Single motherhood in sub-Saharan Africa has received surprisingly little attention, although it is widespread and has critical implications for children’s well-being. Using survival analysis techniques, we estimate the probability of becoming a single mother over women’s life course and...

Recent studies indicate that the traditional rural-urban dichotomy that points to cities as places of better health in the developing worldcan be complicated by poverty differentials; many poor urban women experiencechild mortality burdens as high as their rural counterparts. However, little is...

Many governments in developing countries implement programs that aim to address nutrional failures in early childhood, yet credible evidence on the effectiveness of these interventions is scant. This paper evaluates the impact of a large-scale, government-run, food fortification program on child...

We propose a unified growth theory to investigate the mechanics generating the economic and demographic transition, and the role of mortality differences for comparative development. The framework can replicate the quantitative pat- terns in historical time series data and in contemporaneous...

This paper measures the degree of inequality in child mortality rates across districts in India, using data from the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Indian population censuses. The results show that child mortality is more concentrated in less developed districts in all three census years. Further, between...

Population growth, an unfinished agenda of communicable diseases and maternal health and nutrition, and the rapid rise of Non-communicable diseases are putting increasing strain on not just the Ministry of Health budget, but also the broader financial position of the government as a whole. These...

Indonesia launched Jampersal in 2011, a nationwide program to accelerate the reduction of maternal and newborn deaths. The program was financed by central government revenues and provided free and comprehensive maternal and neonatal care with an emphasis on promoting institutional deliveries....

Indonesia launched the national health insurance program - Jaminan Kesehatan National (JKN), on January 1, 2014, and aims to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by 2019. Achieving UHC means not only increasing the number of people covered but also expanding the benefits package and ensuring...