Maternal Mortality, Democratization, Women’s Status and Ethnic Fractionalization: A Cross-National Study

• In Event: 555 - Regular Session. Health Policy

Abstract

Every year, hundreds of thousands of women die during pregnancy or immediately after birth due to reasons related to maternity. The vast majority of them live in developing countries. Since the late 1980s this issue has garnered a significant amount of attention, but the debate, at least for policymakers has been limited to the availability of data and the possibility of medical and healthcare policy interventions. While these are undoubtedly important items and have achieved considerable success, they limit the discussion on maternal mortality significantly. In this paper, we draw on a strong literature on maternal mortality research, as well as research more broadly relating to mortality and public health to argue that broader issues of income and inequality, but most importantly democratization, women’s status and ethnic fractionalization need to be considered. Using cross-sectional analysis and path-analysis, we show that these predictors have significant impacts on maternal mortality ratios.

Authors

• Mehmet Cansoy, Boston College

• John B. Williamson, Boston College