Exploring the links between intertemporal fluctuations in export earnings and infant mortality: The case of the Sudan

The sociological studies of Third World quality of life have shared a tendency to assume that variations in the determinant variables follow smooth paths over time. However, an elaborate literature indicates that part of the explanation of variation in macro‐sociodemographic dependent variables (including quality of life indicators) may lie in erratic departures from trends in some macroeconomic determinants. This article represents an attempt to explore the nature of the effect of excessive fluctuations in export earnings and income on infant mortality rate using a single‐country time series data. The OLS model estimation findings indicate that instability in income has a systematic and significant adverse effect on infant mortality, whereas instability in export earnings exhibits a consistent lack of significance. These results indicate that the explanation of declines in development or quality of life indicators may also lie in aspects of development that are somehow overlooked in recent sociological studies of the Third World.