The relationship between mortality, amenities and labour force participation in Malaysia: A structural equation modeling approach

Many studies have been carried out to examine the association between babies’ mortality rates and social inequality. These studies are useful for the purpose of intervention and policy making. In this study we examine the relationship between babies’ mortality rates (infant, neonatal and stillbirth), level of amenities (ownership of telephone and car) and labour force participation (total, male, and female labour force) by using the structural equation modeling. The data in the analysis are collected from the information 80 districts based on the census in Malaysia in 1991. We concluded that improvements in high amenities may automatically lead to decreasing in babies’ mortality. Total and female labour force participation are found to have indirect effects on babies’ mortality mediated by amenities. We examined the goodness of fit for models assumed. This study is composed for a number of path-diagrams to create a picture of babies’ health in Malaysia.