DETERMINANTS OF VARIATION IN INFANT MORTALITY RATES AMONG COUNTIES OF THE UNITED STATES: THE ROLES OF SOCIAL POLICIES AND PROGRAMS.
Item
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Title
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DETERMINANTS OF VARIATION IN INFANT MORTALITY RATES AMONG COUNTIES OF THE UNITED STATES: THE ROLES OF SOCIAL POLICIES AND PROGRAMS.
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Identifier
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AAI8119661
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identifier
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8119661
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Creator
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JACOBOWITZ, STEVEN.
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Contributor
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MICHAEL GROSSMAN
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Date
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1981
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Economics, General
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Abstract
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From 1964 to 1977, the infant mortality rate in the United States declined at an annually compounded rate of 4.4 percent per year. This was an extremely rapid rate of decline compared to the figure of 0.6 percent per year from 1955 to 1964. The purpose of this dissertation is to shed light on the causes of the reduction for the period between 1964 and 1977. The roles of four social policies are considered: Medicaid, subsidized family planning services for low-income women, maternal and infant care projects, and the legalization of abortion.;An economic model is developed which relates medical care and fertility control costs to the survival probability of a birth. A reduction in either cost lowers the infant mortality rate associated with minimum expense production.;Race-specific neonatal mortality rates, averaged for 1970-72, are regressed on social policy and program measures, and a set of fundamental determinants. The county is the unit of observation. The regression coefficients are used in extrapolations which attempt to "explain" the reduction in neonatal mortality rates from 1964 to 1977. Policy implications are examined. The most striking finding is that the increase in the legal abortion rate is the single most important factor in reductions in both white and nonwhite neonatal mortality rates. Not only does the growth in abortion dominate the other social policies, but it also dominates schooling and poverty.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Economics
