Socioeconomic factors and infant mortality in Ecuador, 1970-1981

Abstract

In Equador infant mortality has dropped by 35% between 1970 and 1981, though this rate is still high in Latin American countries in general. In the interior, the behavior of the mortality rate has varied and there are some strong contrasts between them. This paper seeks to identify by multiple regression techniques, those socioeconomic factors which have determined the decline of infant mortality in the country and those variables which best explain the inter-regional differences in this indicator. The reduction of the crude birth rate and the proportional increase of health expenditure on one hand and the literacy rate on the other would seem to be the key socio-economic elements in any explanation of recent changes in Equadorian infant mortality.