Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 July 2008
Application of a multivariate analytical technique to the World Fertility Survey data for Java and Bali indicates that demographic variables, particularly the length of the preceding birth interval, are more important in explaining infant and child mortality differentials than are such social variables as education of parents or urban–rural residence. These findings are weakened to some extent by the lack of satisfactory data on household economic status which might have provided a better base for indirectly discerning the effects of nutrition and sanitation on mortality at young ages.