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Political Economy, Capability Development, and Fundamental Cause: Integrating Perspectives on Child Health in Developing Countries

Journal of World-Systems Research

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Title Political Economy, Capability Development, and Fundamental Cause: Integrating Perspectives on Child Health in Developing Countries
 
Creator Burroway, Rebekah
 
Subject Sociology; Global Studies; Development; Health
multi-level analysis, health inequalities, child malnutrition, child diarrhea, economic development, trade, sanitation, clean water, health care, education, household socioeconomic status
 
Description Several dominant theoretical perspectives attempt to account for health disparities in developing countries, including political economy, the capability approach, and fundamental cause. This study combines the perspectives in a multi-level analysis of child malnutrition and diarrhea in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of who faces increased health risks and who is shielded from them. Using the Demographic and Health Surveys and World Bank data, I estimate a series of models that predict the likelihood of child malnutrition and diarrhea, based on a set of country- and individual-level explanatory variables. Results suggest that at the individual-level, household wealth and maternal education are the most robust predictors of child health. These social factors are even more important than more proximate factors like clean water or sanitation. At the country-level, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita reduces malnutrition, but does not significantly affect incidence of diarrhea. Contrary to the predominant economic development paradigm, health care and education are more important in accounting for the prevalence of diarrhea than GDP. Finally, trade in and of itself is not harmful to well-being in developing countries. It is when countries become too dependent on one or a few commodities that trade starts to have detrimental costs. Thus, a synthesis of theoretical frameworks best illustrates the complex web of social structural factors that manifest as unequal life chances for children.
 
Publisher University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
 
Contributor —
 
Date 2017-02-28
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
—
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/639
10.5195/jwsr.2017.639
 
Source Journal of World-Systems Research; Vol 23, No 1 (2017): Winter/Spring; 62-92
1076-156X
 
Language eng
 
Relation http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/639/930
 
Rights Copyright (c) 2017 Rebekah Burroway
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0