Abstract
The capacity of the state to promote the rule of law is identified as a factor that potentially affects child mortality via causal mechanisms independent of the fiscal sociology aspect of state capacity — state size. Two potential causal mechanisms are proposed through which the rule of law may affect child mortality: by improving market efficiency and supporting civil society. As an initial test of these propositions, a cross-national time series analysis of 93 developing countries examines whether the rule of law has a beneficial effect on child mortality, independent of the size of the state and other political and economic controls. The evidence presented supports this hypothesis and suggests a strong, negative and robust effect of the rule of law on child mortality, while also suggesting that state size does not have a statistically significant effect on child mortality when controlling for the rule of law and other politico-economic variables.
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