Data from: The interrelationship among economic activities, environmental degradation, material consumption, and population health in low-income countries: a longitudinal ecological study

Objectives: The theory of ecological unequal exchange explains how trade
and various forms of economic activity create the problem of environmental
degradation, and lead to the deterioration of population health. Based on
this theory, our study examined the inter-relationship among economic
characteristics, ecological footprints, CO2 emissions, infant mortality
rates and under-5 mortality rates in low-income countries. Design: A
longitudinal ecological study design. Setting: Sixty-six low-income
countries from 1980 to 2010 were included in the analyses. Data for each
country represented an average of 23 years (N=1497). Data sources: Data
were from the World Development Indicators, UN Commodity Trade Statistics
Database, Global Footprint Network and Polity IV Project. Analyses: Linear
mixed models with a spatial power covariance structure and a correlation
that decreased over time were constructed to accommodate the repeated
measures. Statistical analyses were conducted separately by sub-Saharan
Africa, Latin America and other regions. Results: After controlling for
country-level sociodemographic characteristics, debt and manufacturing,
economic activities were positively associated with infant mortality rates
and under-5 mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa. By contrast, export
intensity and foreign investment were beneficial for reducing infant and
under-5 mortality rates in Latin America and other regions. Although the
ecological footprints and CO2 emissions did not mediate the relationship
between economic characteristics and health outcomes, export intensity
increased CO2 emissions, but reduced the ecological footprints in
sub-Saharan Africa. By contrast, in Asia, the Middle East and North
Africa, although export intensity was positively associated with the
ecological footprints and also CO2 emissions, the percentage of exports to
high-income countries was negatively associated with the ecological
footprints. Conclusions: This study suggested that environmental
protection and economic development are important for reducing infant and
under-5 mortality rates in low-income countries.