Fast track — ArticlesIncreased educational attainment and its effect on child mortality in 175 countries between 1970 and 2009: a systematic analysis
Section snippets
Background
Increase in educational attainment is an important social goal. Examples to show the crucial role of education in national and international settings include Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2, calling for universal primary education,1 the Human Development Index, which includes education as one of three domains (income and health being the other two), and reviews of public expenditure, which show that spending on education makes up a large component of government expenditure in nearly all
Data
We compiled all publicly available censuses and nationally representative surveys of respondents' educational attainment. We used 915 sources of data from 219 countries, gathered between 1953 and 2008 (webappendix pp 25–35). Data from all countries were included in the estimation of the models, but here we present results for 175 countries for which all covariates used in this analysis were available.
No primary data were gathered for this study. We used country-level data that were completely
Results
Figure 1 shows that there has been substantial progress in the global attainment of education between 1970 and 2009. For individuals aged 15 years or older, the global mean number of years of education in 1970 was 4·7 years (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 4·4–5·1) for men and 3·5 years (3·2–3·9) for women. By 2009, the mean number had increased to 8·3 years (8·0–8·6) for men and 7·1 years (6·7–7·5) for women. For men aged 15–24 years, mean duration of education increased from 5·3 years (5·0–5·7)
Discussion
Substantial progress has been made in education in the past 40 years, especially in developing countries, where the mean number of years of education has increased substantially in men and women aged 15 years and older between 1970 and 2009. For women of reproductive age (15–44 years) in developing countries, the increase was much greater. The rapid progress in educational attainment in women has resulted in significant reductions in the gender gap in education. The effect of educational
References (50)
- et al.
The influence of economic development level, household wealth and maternal education on child health in the developing world
Soc Sci Med
(2006) - et al.
Maternal education and child survival: a comparative study of survey data from 17 countries
Soc Sci Med
(1993) - et al.
Maternal education and child survival in developing countries: The search for pathways of influence
Soc Sci Med
(1988) - et al.
Low levels of maternal education and the proximate determinants of childhood mortality: a little learning is not a dangerous thing
Soc Sci Med
(2005) - et al.
Determinants of child morbidity in Latin America: a pooled analysis of interactions between parental education and economic status
Soc Sci Med
(2006) - et al.
Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health
Lancet
(2008) - et al.
Neonatal, postneonatal, childhood, and under-5 mortality for 187 countries, 1970–2010: a systematic analysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 4
Lancet
(2010) - et al.
Panel data and models of change: A comparison of first difference and conventional two-wave models
Soc Sci Res
(1985) - et al.
Women's autonomy, education and employment in Oman and their influence on contraceptive use
Reprod Health Matters
(2004) - et al.
Family planning: the unfinished agenda
Lancet
(2006)
Worldwide mortality in men and women aged 15–59 years from 1970 to 2010: a systematic analysis
Lancet
Influence of maternal education on infant and child mortality: Levels and causes
Health Policy Educ
Millennium Development Goals Report 2010
Education and health: evaluating theories and evidence
Cohort and life-course patterns in the relationship between education and health: a hierarchical approach
Demography
Parental Education and Child Health: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
Am Econ J Appl Econ
Association of maternal stature with offspring mortality, underweight, and stunting in low- to middle-income countries
JAMA
Education as a factor in mortality decline an examination of Nigerian data
Popul Stud (Camb)
Women's education, child welfare and child survival: a review of the evidence
Health Transit Rev
Maternal education and child health: is there a strong causal relationship?
Demography
Maternal literacy and child health in less-developed countries: evidence, processes, and limitations
J Dev Behav Pediatr
The relationship between women's education and fertility: selected findings from the world fertility surveys
Int Fam Plann Perspect
Women's education and fertility: results from 26 demographic and health surveys
Stud Fam Plann
Cited by (497)
Effects of education on adult mortality: a global systematic review and meta-analysis
2024, The Lancet Public HealthEffect of a novel hygiene intervention on older children's handwashing in a humanitarian setting in Kahda district, Somalia: A cluster-randomised controlled equivalence trial
2023, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental HealthPaediatrics in the Tropics
2023, Manson's Tropical Diseases, Fourth Edition