Testing Fractional Persistence and Nonlinearity in Infant Mortality Rates of Asia Countries

The infant mortality rates in 45 Asian countries (1960-2018), obtained from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis database, are investigated using the I(d) framework, which allows for simultaneous estimation of the degree of persistence and nonlinearities in infant mortality rates as well as their growth rates. A high degree of persistence in the decreases of mortality rate is found with nonlinear evidence in the majority of the cases, confirming nonlinear dynamics of mortality rates. In the growth of mortality rates, we find ten countries (Armenia, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and UAE) with evidence of mean reversion. Health management in those listed countries needs to kick start interventions that improve the survival rates of infants.