Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/92566 
Year of Publication: 
2007
Series/Report no.: 
ISER Discussion Paper No. 685
Publisher: 
Osaka University, Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Osaka
Abstract: 
Does democracy help babies survive in sub-Saharan Africa? By using retrospective fertility surveys conducted in 28 African countries, I compare the survival of infants born to the same mother before and after democratization to identify the effect of democracy. In measuring democracy, I adopt a theoretically motivated definition of democracy: universal suffrage and contested elections for executive office. I find that infant mortality falls by 1.8 percentage points, 18 percent of the sample mean, after democratization. The size of the reduction is larger for babies born to mothers from disadvantaged groups. I also find that the replacement of a chief executive by democratization is the driving force behind these results. Additional evidence suggests that improvements in public health service delivery, not an increase in affluence, are the key mechanism in which democratization has reduced infant mortality.
Additional Information: 
The Ninth ISER-Moriguchi Prize (2007) Awarded Paper.
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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