Information Communication Technology and Infant Mortality in Low-Income Countries: Empirical Study Using Panel Data...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Information and Communication Technology

Background:

• Lower-income countries face disproportionately severe health challenges compared to higher-income nations.
• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) offer potential solutions for global health disparities.
• Existing research on ICT's impact on infant mortality is limited in scope and duration, particularly for low-income contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal effects of ICT on infant mortality in low-income countries.
• To analyze panel data from 27 low-income countries between 2000 and 2017.
• To address data deficiencies using advanced statistical methods.

Main Methods:

• Predictive mean matching was employed to handle missing data.
• Panel data techniques, including fixed effects (FE) and pooled common correlated effects (PCCE), were utilized.
• System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) was applied to estimate causal impacts.

Main Results:

• Internet access demonstrated a significant positive effect in reducing infant mortality.
• Cellular mobile subscriptions also showed a positive, though less pronounced, effect on lowering infant mortality.
• Robust techniques confirmed the consistency and heterogeneity of findings across empirical tests.

Conclusions:

• Internet access and mobile technology are crucial ICT tools for mitigating infant mortality in low-income settings.
• Policymakers in low-income countries should prioritize national accessibility of internet-related ICT innovations.
• Strategic implementation of ICT can effectively combat health crises like high infant mortality rates.