The structural causes of infant mortality decline in Chile

The effect of macro processes on infant mortality rates is explored in this analysis of Chilean provincial statistics over five decades. Urbanization and pluralism, as measured by the percent of the population in urban centers and the percent voting, predict lower infant mortality strongly and consistently. The theoretical rationale for linking macrostructural variables to biological outcomes is then examined in more detail. It is argued that the structural model employed here is an improvement on the conventional modernization/biomedical explanation because of its greater consistency and specificity, and because inclusion of measures of health technology in the tests did not eliminate the effect of the structural variables.     

Further evidence on the decline in infant mortality in pre-industrial England: North Shropshire, 1561-1810

Summary There is growing evidence of a substantial decline in infant mortality in England from the late seventeenth century onwards. This trend is examined in detail using data from the parish registers of a group of rural parishes in North Shropshire. A major change in the whole pattern of first-year mortality during the period 1661-1810 is indicated, its main features being an increase in mortality between the ages of six and eleven months, and a marked fall in mortality during the first three months of life. Examination of the seasonal pattern of infant mortality shows very heavy mortality among young infants in the winter, presumably from respiratory causes, during the period before 1700. It is suggested that a fall in the number of deaths from these causes was the main reason for the decline in infant mortality since the late seventeenth century.     

A study of internal migration in England and Wales : Part I

Abstract Statistics ofpersons classified jointly by county of birth and county ofresidence have been published in the England and Wales census volumes since 1851 and the present study draws mainly on these data. A group of persons recorded in a census as natives of county A and residents of county Bare sometimes referred to as lifetime migrants from county A to county B. Statistics of lifetime migrants have often been used in studies of internal migration but these have one great disadvantage. The number of lifetime migrants from A to B does not relate to a specific period of time. It is impossible, for example, in such studies to consider the association between specific migration streams and differential economic activity. An attempt is made in this study to transform lifetime migration data into intercensal migration streams. Some of the results are presented and the most significant migration patterns during the period 1851-1951 are described.     

A study of internal migration in England and Wales : Part I

Statistics ofpersons classified jointly by county of birth and county ofresidence have been published in the England and Wales census volumes since 1851 and the present study draws mainly on these data. A group of persons recorded in a census as natives of county A and residents of county Bare sometimes referred to as lifetime migrants from county A to county B. Statistics of lifetime migrants have often been used in studies of internal migration but these have one great disadvantage. The number of lifetime migrants from A to B does not relate to a specific period of time. It is impossible, for example, in such studies to consider the association between specific migration streams and differential economic activity.

An attempt is made in this study to transform lifetime migration data into intercensal migration streams. Some of the results are presented and the most significant migration patterns during the period 1851–1951 are described.     

Bridging the gap: Determining long-term changes in infant mortality in pre-registration England and Wales

Much effort has been expended in analysing a small sample of parish registers to produce national estimates of infant mortality for the period 1570–1840. However, in an age when inter-parish variations in infant mortality were considerable, national trends often obscured local and regional differences. By analysing data from the initial years of Civil Registration (1839–1846) together with infant mortality rates from a range of parishes, it is possible to assess the extent of variation and change in England and Wales during the period 1580–1840. The geographical variations in infant mortality and the age structure of infant deaths were sufficient to suggest that the most important influence on whether infants survived was disease environments.     

The measurement of historical trends in fetal mortality in England and Wales

This paper critically discusses recent attempts to estimate long-term trends in the stillbirth rate for England and Wales. It assesses the available historical evidence for the level of late-fetal mortality, drawing especially on examples from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. A theoretical fetal-infant life table for a high-mortality population is also outlined as a means of analysing the relationship between segments of the conception-to-first-birthday mortality curve. Finally, new estimates of the stillbirth rate for England and Wales are proposed, based on variations in the early neonatal and maternal mortality rates during the 1930s. These estimates are substantially lower than the earlier estimates and are more in keeping with the available evidence from northern Europe. The implications of the revised estimates for interpretations of historical changes in mortality patterns are also considered.     

The measurement of historical trends in fetal mortality in England and Wales

This paper critically discusses recent attempts to estimate long-term trends in the stillbirth rate for England and Wales. It assesses the available historical evidence for the level of late-fetal mortality, drawing especially on examples from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. A theoretical fetal–infant life table for a high-mortality population is also outlined as a means of analysing the relationship between segments of the conception-to-first-birthday mortality curve. Finally, new estimates of the stillbirth rate for England and Wales are proposed, based on variations in the early neonatal and maternal mortality rates during the 1930s. These estimates are substantially lower than the earlier estimates and are more in keeping with the available evidence from northern Europe. The implications of the revised estimates for interpretations of historical changes in mortality patterns are also considered.     

Social Class Inequality in Mortality From 1921 to 1972 in England and Wales

In this paper the data on occupational and social class mortality published decennially for England and Wales are used to examine the trend in the size of class differentials in mortality from 1921 to 1972 for adult men, married women and infants. Using summary measures which take into account changes in the relative sizes of the social classes over time, it was found that absolute inequality in mortality increased among adult men and married women during the 1950s and 1960s and relative inequality increased for all three groups. Two widely recognized potential sources of error, changes in the occupational composition of the social classes over time, and discrepancies between the numerators and denominators of occupation-specific death rates are examined to determine their effect on the trend indicated, and the initial findings are confirmed. Finally, the possible causes and implications of rising inequality coincident with declining overall levels of mortality, relative affluence, and the uniform availability of basic medical services to all socio-economic sub-groups of the population are considered.     

The spread of urbanization in England and Wales, 1851-1951

Abstract Each county in England and Wales has been classified as rural or urban for each of the decennial census years 1851-1951. One index has been used as the basis for these classifications, the percentage of adult males occupied in agriculture. Thus, for each census year a value, in term of this index, was fixed as the criterion to determine whether a county was rural or urban in that year. This criterion of classification varies, over time. This is to allow for the reduction in the percentage of adult males occupied in agriculture as a result of structural changes in the occupational distribution (associated with general modernization), rather than through a shift away from agriculture. The geographical patterns of urbanization in England and Wales during the period 1851-1951, and some associated social and economic changes, are discussed in the paper.     

The decline in mortality in British Guiana, 1911-1960

In this paper an attempt is made to describe the pattern of declining mortality in British Guiana between 1911 and 1960. Specifically we identify the disease-specific mortality rates whose declines contributed most to the overall improvement, we consider the possibility that changing economic circumstances may have contributed to the decline in mortality, and we survey the improvements in public health facilities which occurred during the period. Broadly our conclusion is that improvements in public health facilities and not economic advances were responsible for the dramatic decline in mortality which was experienced. Before 1940 these advances took the form of improvements in the quality of the country’s water supplies, in methods of disposing of waste, and in medical facilities especially on the colony’s sugar estates. In addition, there was an advance in the dissemination of information with respect to pre- and post-natal care. In the postwar period British Guiana’s famous D.D.T. experiment was the most important reason death rates continued to fall.     

The decline in maternal and infant mortality and its relation to malaria eradication

Abstract In his article 'Malaria eradication and its effect on mortality levels' (Population Studies d21, 3, November 1967) Dr. S. A. Meegama criticised the approach followed by Professor Peter Newman in an earlier investigation of the effects of malaria eradication in Ceylon. In the present series of comments and rejoinders, Professor Newman and Dr. Meegama discuss in detail their interpretations of the data and the methods they have used in assessing the r?le of malaria eradication.     

Fertility decline in Scotland, England and Wales, and Ireland: comparisons from the 1911 census of fertility

Data on family size by year of marriage, age at marriage, and duration of marriage, from the 1911 Fertility Census, are compared between Scotland, England and Wales, Irish county boroughs, and the rest of Ireland. While means show significant inter-country differences, from the 1880s marked similarities are found across all the countries in the pattern of fertility decline, strongly suggesting significant fertility limitation in rural Ireland well before 1911. Noting the implications for the use of rural Ireland as a natural fertility population, the data are instead compared with the Coale-Trussell and Hinde-Woods schedules. The former provides more plausible results, which imply strong period rather than cohort effects in the fertility decline. Except in rural Ireland, little evidence is found for significant fertility limitation early in marriage among younger marrying couples, but many older marrying couples appear to have stopped childbearing at very low parities from an early date.     

The fertility of teachers in England and Wales

Data on the fertility of teachers in grant earning schools in England and Wales were collected in 1955 as part of a general survey into the social characteristics of teachers. The survey was financed by the Nuffield Foundation with a contribution from the Population Investigation Committee. A subsequent article will discuss some possible determinants of fertility and in particular the interrelationship between social mobility and fertility. The present note describes changes in cohort fertility of teachers since 1915 and compares average family size with that of other sections of the population. The average number of children per married male teacher declined from 1.81 for the pre-1920 cohort to 1.47 for 1930–34. Segmental data after 1935 indicate a rise to approximately 2 children per family. Comparison with the Family Census suggests that the number of children of teachers is between 10% and 20% below that of all professions combined when the age at marriage of the wife is taken into account.