The Declines in Infant Mortality and Fertility: Evidence from British Cities in Demographic Transition

Andrew Newell and Ian Gazeley

No 6855, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: At the beginning of the twentieth century Britain was roughly halfway through a 60-year demographic transition with declining infant mortality and birth rates. Cities exhibited great and strongly correlated diversity in these rates. We demonstrate cross-section correlations with, for instance, women's employment, population density, literacy and improved water supply and sanitation, that have been linked to the transition. When we analyse data from the late 1850s and the early 1900s, the changes in the two rates are not correlated across cities, but we find a robust and large impact from sanitation improvement to long-period infant mortality reduction. We also find the extension of basic literacy is related to increases in female labour market participation, which is in turn related to fertility reduction. Lastly we find that more rapid urban growth accelerates fertility decline, but, in late 19th century Britain it slowed the reduction of infant mortality.

Keywords: fertility; infant mortality; education and sanitary reform; women's participation; education; 19th century and early 20th century Britain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I15 J13 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2012-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-hea, nep-his and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Working Paper: The declines in infant mortality and fertility: Evidence from British cities in demographic transition (2012)
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