Influence of maternal education on infant and child mortality: Levels and causes

Abstract

Data from the World Fertility Survey in ten Third World countries are used to test the conclusion, based on a Nigerian study, that maternal education is important in reducing child mortality. The analysis confirms the major importance of parental education, the impact of which is probably greater than both income factors and access to health facilities combined. Rural/urban differentials are of small importance once parental education has been controlled. The findings of the Nigerian study are modified in that paternal education is also shown to be important, though not as important as maternal education, and the step from primary to secondary schooling is more important than that from illit..