The SES-mortality relationship in Latin America: A Cross-Country Analysis

Andres Palacio, Lund University

DHS data from 4 Latin-American Countries are used to test the impact of SES on infant and child Mortality across Countries. Bolivia, Dominican Republic and perú Belong to a cluster of late Beginners of the modern demographic regime, which are catching up with Colombia, initially the closest to the more modern Latin American countries. Between 1985 and 2010, the study confirms that mortality is socially stratified by SES in every country. The mortality inequality by SES is greater in Colombia than in the other countries, rejecting the hypotheses that the more advanced country in terms of SES has the lowest mortality inequality between countries. The Dominican Republic appears as the more equal in terms of SES related inequalities. The impact of SES over time does not provide any evidence that the inequalities are increasing in any country. The unobserved heterogeneity at the family level is more important than SES.