Estimating the effect of the pact for reduction in infant mortality in Northeast and Amazon

Abstract

Brazilian regions are marked by strong social and economic inequalities. Reducing infant mortality is one possible way to mitigate this problem. In 2009, the Federal Government created the Pact for the Reduction of Infant Mortality in the Northeast and Amazon, in order to reduce infant mortality in these regions. This study aims to assess the impact of this intervention on infant mortality. Our empirical strategy exploits the regional differences in treatment intensity to identify causal impacts. The intervention is associated with a modest and statically insignificant decline in infant mortality rate. However, we find that intervention had a statistically significant in those municipalities with higher pre-intervention infant mortality rate.