Aid, Remittances, Medical Brain Drain and Child Mortality: Evidence Using Inter and Intra-Country Data

For Health, Strength, and Daily Food: The Dual Impact of Remittances and Public Health Expenditure on Household Health Spending and Child Health Outcomes

“…Table 5 indicates that a 1 per cent increase in remittances per capita reduces child and infant mortality by approximately 0.10 per cent and 0.11 per cent, respectively. These estimates are 11 per cent and 38 per cent higher, respectively, than those reported by Chauvet et al (2013), in which a 1 per cent increase in remittance receipts per capita results in approximate reductions of 0.09 per cent in child mortality and 0.08 per cent in infant mortality. My results are higher because I consider a longer time period of 15 years with annual data, compared to Chauvet et al (2013) who use three-year averaged data over 13 years.…”

“…My paper is a valuable addition to the literature, and will complement that of Chauvet et al (2013) and Drabo and Ebeke (2010). Drabo and Ebeke (2010) look specifically at doctors' visits for particular illnesses: fever and diarrhoea.…”

“…In order to explain the link between increased household income through remittances and mortality, I also consider the impact of remittances on child malnutrition and the depth of hunger measures. Similarly, I build on Chauvet et al (2013) as I examine the joint impact of remittances and public health spending on both household health spending and child health outcomes. I believe that it is vital to compare the importance of remittances to the role of public health spending as a significant source of institutional health funding.…”

“…They find that both resource flows increase health care access, which is measured as visits to health facilities. Chauvet, Gubert, and Mesple-Somps (2013) are interested in migration's disparate effects on mortality, as they compare the effect of remittances on mortality, with the effect of medical brain drain on mortality. They find that remittances decrease mortality, but there is a larger countervailing impact of medical brain drain, which worsens mortality.…”

Aid Fragmentation or Aid Pluralism? The Effect of Multiple Donors on Child Survival in Developing Countries, 1990–2010

“…First, we controlled for the effect of aid specifically targeted at health interventions as opposed to aggregate aid. Previous research on the effects of the volume of health aid on health outcomes has yielded mixed findings, with some studies finding a beneficial effect (Chauvet, Gubert, & Mesplé-Somps, 2013;Mishra & Newhouse, 2009) and others finding no statistically significant effect (Mukherjee & Kizhakethalackal, 2013;Williamson, 2008;Wilson, 2011). 12 These studies are based on data on commitments rather than disbursements of health aid, whereas we use health aid disbursement data.…”