by Abdolrahman Rasekh and Majid Momtaz

Journal of Data Science, v.5, no.4, 555-576

Abstract

Birth interval is a major determinant of the rates of fertility. In this paper a graphical modelling approach is used to study the effect of different socio-economic factors on birth intervals of children in Ahvaz-Iran. This approach provides an easily interpretable empirical description and illustrates explicitly the conditional independence structure between each pair of variables. The interpretation can be read directly from a mathematical graph. Besides examining the direct association of each determinant on birth interval, we also examine the effects of socio-economic determinants on intermediate determinants to understand the pathways through which the socio-economic determinants affect the birth interval. The data analysed come from a sample of women referred to ``Health and Medical Centres" during October and November 2002.

Homepage | Table of Contents | Full Text of This Article