The Revolution in Death Control in Nonindustrial Countries

Abstract

Latin America's population explosion is mainly the result of drastic declines in mortality, which have frequently matched or exceeded the maximum trends ever encountered in the low-mortality, industrial nations. The causes of the declines have been primarily noneconomic, suggesting that the traditional view of the relations between mortality and levels of living in economically un derdeveloped areas does not afford a reliable basis for explanation or prediction. Almost nothing of a quantitative nature is known about the social or economic implications of better health in underdeveloped regions. The usual statements on implications are accepted by presupposition rather than from documented evidence.