Abstract
High urban mortality delayed the transitions to low mortality in nineteenth century Europe but an urban mortality advantage emerged as European transitions progressed into the twentieth century. Recent analysis has suggested that high mortality in the rapidly growing urban slums of developing countries might once again delay transitions to low mortality in the twenty-first century. In this paper, we use data from Demographic and Health Surveys across 37 countries to investigate this hypothesis. We document the changes in child mortality over the last 20 years, with a special focus on urban slums and on differences between small and large cities. We show that slum areas fare worse than other urban areas across all child mortality categories and all city categories, but that generally children growing up in urban slums fare at least as well as children in rural areas. Moreover, the improvements in child mortality appear to have affected slum residents at least as much as other urban and rural residents, indicating a neutral role of slum settlements in the mortality transition of developing countries.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
23 August 2011, www.measuredhs.com
- 2.
Households are considered without access to safe water if the household does not have access to a private or public pipe, bore hole, or a protected well or spring. Households are defined as being deprived of basic sanitation if they either rely on open defecation or use an unimproved pit latrine. Shared sanitation facilities are considered as basic sanitation if they provide access to a flush toilet or ventilated improved pit latrine. A dwelling is considered as overcrowded if there are more than three persons per habitable room. If the floor material of a house is made of earth, dung, sand or wood its structure is considered inadequate.
- 3.
In order to be able to estimate pre-post differences, survey-fixed effects cannot be included in the empirical model.
References
Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., et al. (2010). Urban settlement: Data, measures, and trends. In J. Beall, B. Guha-Khasnobis, & R. Kanbur (Eds.), Urbanization and development: Multidisciplinary perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bocquier, P., Madise, N. J., et al. (2011). Is there an urban advantage in child survival in sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from 18 countries in the 1990s. Demography, 48, 531–558.
Cain, L., & Hong, S. (2009). Survival in 19th century cities: The larger the city, the smaller your chances. Explorations in Economic History, 46(4), 450–463.
Fotso, J. C. (2007). Urban-rural differentials in child malnutrition: Trends and socioeconomic correlates in sub-Saharan Africa. Health & Place, 13(1), 205–223.
Gould, W. T. (1998). African mortality and the new ‘urban penalty’. Health & Place, 4(2), 171–181.
Günther, I., & Harttgen, K. (2012). Deadly cities? Inequalities in mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Population and Development Review, 38, 469–486.
Haines, M. R. (1995). Socio-economic differentials in infant and child mortality during mortality decline: England and Wales, 1890–1911. Population Studies, 49(2), 297–315.
Johnson, G. (1964). Health conditions in rural and urban areas of developing countries. Population Studies, 17, 293–309.
Konteh, F. (2009). Urban sanitation and health in the developing world: Reminiscing the nineteenth century industrial nations. Health & Place, 15(1), 69–78.
Montgomery, M. R., & Hewett, P. C. (2005). Urban poverty and health in developing countries: Household and neighborhood effects. Demography, 42(3), 397–425.
Montgomery, M. R., Stren, R., et al. (Eds.). (2003). Cities transformed: Demographic change and its implications in the developing world. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Moore, M., Gouldet, P., et al. (2003). Global urbanization and impact on health. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health Affairs, 206, 269–278.
Sclar, E., Garau, P., et al. (2005). The 21st century health challenge of slums and cities. Lancet Infectious Diseases, 365(9462), 901–903.
Timaeus, I. M., & Lush, L. (1995). Intra-urban differentials in child health. Health Transition Review, 5(2), 163–190.
UNDP. (2011). World urbanization prospects: The 2009 revision. United Nations Population Division. Accessed online at: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/index.htm
UN–HABITAT. (2007). State of the world’s cities 2006/7. London: Earthscan Publications.
Williamson, J. G. (1990). Coping with city growth during the British industrial revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Woods, R. (2003). Urban-Rural mortality differentials: An unresolved debate. Population and Development Review, 29(1), 29–46.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendix: Countries and Urban 1 Mill. Agglomerations
Appendix: Countries and Urban 1 Mill. Agglomerations
Country | Year(s) | Urban agglomerations above 1 mill. Inhabitants in 2000 |
|---|---|---|
Azerbaijan | 2006 | Baku |
Bangladesh | 1993, 2008 | Chittagong, Dhaka Khulna |
Bolivia | 1993, 1998 | La Pay, Santa Cruz |
Brazil | 1991, 1996 | 20 cities |
Burkina Faso | 1992, 1998 | Ouagadougou |
Cameroon | 1991, 1998 | Douala, Yaounde |
Colombia | 1990, 1995 | Barrangquilla, Bogota, Bucaramanga, Cali, Medellin |
Cote d’Ivoire | 1994, 1998 | Abidjan |
Dominican Rep. | 1991, 1996, 2007 | Santo Domingo |
Egypt, Arab Rep. | 1992, 1995 | Cairo, Alexandria |
Ghana | 1993, 1998, 2008 | Accra, Kumasi |
Guinea | 1999 | Conakry |
Haiti | 1994, 2005 | Port-au-Prince |
India | 2005 | 43 cities |
Jordan | 1997, 2007 | Amman |
Kazakhstan | 1995 | Almaty |
Kenya | 1993, 1998, 2008 | Nairobi |
Madagascar | 1992, 1997, 2008 | Antananarivo |
Mali | 1995, 2006 | Bamako |
Morocco | 1992 | Casablanca, Fes, Rabat |
Mozambique | 1997 | Maputo |
Niger | 1992, 1998, 2006 | Niamey |
Nigeria | 1999, 2008 | Abuja, Benin City, Ibadan Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Ogbomosho, Port Harcourt |
Pakistan | 2006 | Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Rawalpindi |
Peru | 1991, 1996, 2003 | Lima |
Philippines | 1993, 1998, 2008 | Davao, Manila |
Senegal | 1992, 1997, 2006, 2008 | Dakar |
South Africa | 1998 | Cape Town, Durban, East Rand, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Vereeniging |
Togo | 1998 | Lome |
Turkey | 1993, 1998 | Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir |
Uganda | 1995, 2006 | Kampala |
Ukraine | 2007 | Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kiev, Odesa |
Uzbekistan | 1996 | Tashkent |
Vietnam | 1997, 2000 | Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City |
Yemen, Rep. | 1991 | Sanaa |
Zambia | 1992, 1996, 2007 | Lusaka |
Zimbabwe | 1994, 2005 | Harare |
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fink, G., Günther, I., Hill, K. (2016). Urban Mortality Transitions: The Role of Slums. In: Ramiro Fariñas, D., Oris, M. (eds) New Approaches to Death in Cities during the Health Transition. International Studies in Population, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43002-7_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43002-7_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-43001-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-43002-7
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)