Infant mortality in Europe, socio-economic determinants based on aggregate data

ABSTRACT

A great deal of research has been conducted on the determinant factors of infant mortality. In this work, the focus is placed on the aggregate determinants of infant mortality in the EU. Data is collected from Eurostat and World Health Organization – Health for All databases for the period 2005-12. Robust regressions and panel data regressions are estimated in order to test the main determinants of infant mortality in the EU. Both the GDP and birth before the age of 20 influence infant mortality rate. It is likely that as mothers mean age at the first child increases, the rate of infant mortality decreases. The results found here contribute to the discussion on the factors explaining infant mortality in Europe and to future health policy. In particular, controlling teen motherhood may help to reduce infant mortality rate in the EU.

KEYWORDS:

• Infant mortality
• determinants
• panel data
• Europe

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• C33
• I18

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Corrigendum

Acknowledgment

The author acknowledges the fellowship from EURO-HEALTHY project “Shaping EUROpean policies to promote HEALTH equitY”, funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under the grant agreement nr. 643398.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.