Child mortality, wealth and education: direct versus indirect effects

Abstract

Controlling for the Egyptian household choice of health infrastructure (i.e., sanitation facility and water accessibility) is done by means of a discrete choice approach consistent with the random utility model. Evidence of the importance of the indirect effect of the source of drinking water on child mortality is found. Furthermore, changes in wealth and education levels are assessed taking into consideration a priori the choice of health infrastructure. The analysis suggests that wealth and education contribute to the child mortality reduction.