Birth-spacing and Child Survival: Comparative Evidence from India and Pakistan

This paper examines child mortality in India and Pakistan. Child survival is jointly estimated with birth spacing, because the duration between successive children is likely to significantly affect child quality and hence child survival. The analysis is based on National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 1992-93 household-level data from the Indian province of Punjab and Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS) 1991 data from the Pakistani Punjab province. There are interesting similarities and differences in the results from two provinces that have been separated by partition in 1947. While results relating to the importance of sibling competition and composition are similar, there are differences in results relating to household resource constraints and also paternal and maternal education in the two adjacent states. These also highlight the differential role of the state and the religion in these two samples.