The effect of fertility reductions on infant and child mortality: Evidence from matlab in rural Bangladesh

The role of family planning programmes and declining fertility in improving infant and child survival has been the subject of considerable debate. In this paper, we analyse data from Matlab, Bangladesh, to assess the net effect of falling total fertility on the mortality rates of young children. A real time-series models are estimated to determine the role of fertility decline after having controlled for the effects of other health service interventions. The results show that fertility reductions have little effect on neonatal and post-neonatal mortality, possibly a small effect on toddler (second-year) mortality, and a significant and relatively large impact on the mortality of children aged between two and four years. Possible explanations for these findings and their implications are discussed.