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Maternal mortality, women's status, and economic dependency in less developed countries: a cross-national analysis

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  • Shen, Ce
  • Williamson, John B.

Abstract

While much has been written about the medical, economic, and social causes of cross-national differences in some mortality related phenomena such as in life expectancy and infant mortality, much less attention has been given to maternal mortality, the focus of the present study. In the studies of maternal mortality that have been done, there has been very little effort to assess the potential relevance of the gender stratification and dependency theory perspectives. Using lagged cross-sectional and path analysis with a sample of 79 less developed countries, this article focuses on the impact of predictors linked to three theoretical perspectives - modernization, economic dependency, and gender stratification. We find that women's status, as measured by indicators such as level of education relative to men, age at first marriage, and reproductive autonomy, is a strong predictor of maternal mortality. We find that economic dependency, especially multinational corporate investment, has a detrimental effect on maternal mortality that is mediated by its harmful impacts on economic growth and the status of women. We also find support for developmental theory, a variant of modernization theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Shen, Ce & Williamson, John B., 1999. "Maternal mortality, women's status, and economic dependency in less developed countries: a cross-national analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 197-214, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:49:y:1999:i:2:p:197-214
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jamie M. Sommer, 2020. "Corruption and Health expenditure: A Cross-National Analysis on Infant and Child Mortality," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(3), pages 690-717, July.
    2. Majid, H. & Siegmann, K.A., 2017. "Has growth been good for women’s employment in Pakistan?," ISS Working Papers - General Series 630, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    3. Weitzman, Abigail, 2017. "The effects of women's education on maternal health: Evidence from Peru," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 1-9.
    4. Ross Macmillan & Naila Shofia & Wendy Sigle, 2018. "Gender and the Politics of Death: Female Representation, Political and Developmental Context, and Population Health in a Cross-National Panel," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(5), pages 1905-1934, October.
    5. Chor Foon Tang & Ali Fakih & Salah Abosedra, 2022. "The Fatality Rate of COVID-19: How Does Education, Health Infrastructure and Institutional Quality Make a Change?," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 16(2), pages 166-182, May.
    6. Van Rijsbergen, Bart & D’Exelle, Ben, 2013. "Delivery Care in Tanzania: A Comparative Analysis of Use and Preferences," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 276-287.
    7. Ezra Gayawan & Samson B. Adebayo, 2013. "A Bayesian semiparametric multilevel survival modelling of age at first birth in Nigeria," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(45), pages 1339-1372.
    8. Emmanuel Banchani & Liam Swiss, 2019. "The impact of foreign aid on maternal mortality," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-11, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Jengher Chen, 2013. "Does Global Fertility and Cultural Transition Affect Human Development? The Neglected Role of the Demographic Transition," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 941-971, September.
    10. Heaton, Tim B. & Forste, Renata & Hoffmann, John P. & Flake, Dallan, 2005. "Cross-national variation in family influences on child health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 97-108, January.
    11. Ngepah, Nicholas & Saba, Charles Shaaba & Tinga, Cleide L.M., 2024. "Gender Inequality and Economic Growth in Developing Countries," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 77(3), pages 371-416.
    12. Kathryn Yount & Sarah Zureick-Brown & Nafisa Halim & Kayla LaVilla, 2014. "Fertility Decline, Girls’ Well-being, and Gender Gaps in Children’s Well-being in Poor Countries," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 535-561, April.

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