Frontier settlement and child survival in the Brazilian Amazon

This study uses sample data from the 1960, 1970 and 1980 demographic censuses to estimate child survival rates among children born to native and migrant women in the Brazilian Amazon. Estimates show that by 1980 the probability of death among children was quite similar when comparing native and migrant populations in the aggregate. However, after controlling for household economic activity and income, death rates were higher among migrant children. The findings suggests that nonmigrants are better able than recent colonists to mobilize physical and social environments to safeguard the health of their children.