Volume 22 - Article 26 | Pages 813–862

Comparisons of infant mortality in the Austrian Empire Länder using the Tafeln (1851-54)

By Gianpiero Dalla Zuanna, Fiorenzo Rossi

Print this page  Facebook  Twitter

 

 
Date received:23 Jul 2009
Date published:04 May 2010
Word count:11300
Keywords:Austrian Empire, data quality, infant mortality
DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2010.22.26
 

Abstract

In this paper we measure differences in infant mortality among the central European populations of the Austrian Empire during the mid-19th century using data published in the Tafeln zur Statistik der Österreichischen Monarchie (Statistical Tables of the Austrian Monarchy). Our aim is mainly methodological, i.e., to illustrate the extraordinary richness of this data, and to discuss whether the quality of the material on infant mortality published around 1850 in the Tafeln guarantees comparability between regions. This article demonstrates that – with several exceptions – the quality of the material on infant mortality published in the Tafeln around 1850 guarantees reliable comparability between the Empire’s Länder. Data on sex, age at death, and legitimacy were all recorded with great accuracy. This article – of a methodological nature – provides only a few examples of potential analyses which might be carried out using such rich and detailed territorial data. The geography of mortality in the first three years of life varied by age, but according to intervals different than those usually employed when studying early mortality. Four ages can be identified (first month, months 1-5, months 6-17, and months 18-35) with a geography of differing mortality. In all likelihood, in these four age groups, mortality differences between Länder were motivated by diverse reasons.

Author's Affiliation

Gianpiero Dalla Zuanna - Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD), Italy [Email]
Fiorenzo Rossi - Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD), Italy [Email]

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

» The growing number of given names as a clue to the beginning of the demographic transition in Europe
Volume 45 - Article 6

» A synthetic measure of mortality using skeletal data from ancient cemeteries: The d index
Volume 38 - Article 65

» First signs of transition: The parallel decline of early baptism and early mortality in the province of Padua (northeast Italy), 1816‒1870
Volume 36 - Article 27

» Mortality selection in the first three months of life and survival in the following thirty-three months in rural Veneto (North-East Italy) from 1816 to 1835
Volume 31 - Article 39

» Siblings and human capital: A comparison between Italy and France
Volume 23 - Article 21

» Social mobility and fertility
Volume 17 - Article 15

» Interdependence between sexual debut and church attendance in Italy
Volume 14 - Article 19

» The banquet of Aeolus: A familistic interpretation of Italy's lowest low fertility
Volume 4 - Article 5

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

» Maternal education and infant mortality decline: The evidence from Indonesia, 1980–2015
Volume 45 - Article 24    | Keywords: infant mortality

» Mexican mortality 1990‒2016: Comparison of unadjusted and adjusted estimates
Volume 44 - Article 30    | Keywords: data quality

» Age patterns of under-5 mortality in sub-Saharan Africa during 1990‒2018: A comparison of estimates from demographic surveillance with full birth histories and the historic record
Volume 44 - Article 18    | Keywords: infant mortality

» Evaluating interviewer manipulation in the new round of the Generations and Gender Survey
Volume 43 - Article 50    | Keywords: data quality

» Assessing the quality of education reporting in Brazilian censuses
Volume 42 - Article 15    | Keywords: data quality