Background: Infant mortality in Latin America has declined dramatically over the past six decades. The health transition in the region began in the main cities and has tended to proceed more rapidly in countries with higher levels of urbanization. Although urban–rural mortality differentials have consistently favoured cities, these gaps vary significantly across countries, subpopulations, and geographical areas. Objective: I aim to analyse, first, urban–rural infant mortality trends in seven Latin American countries during the period 1980 to 2010 and, second, whether or not an urban penalty has emerged in the region. Methods: I estimate IMR by distinguishing urban–rural areas and cities according to their size. Yearly rates are produced using a semi-parametric regression model. The model summarizes and predicts IMR trends based on: (1) indirect estimation methods used on 19 censuses conducted in 1990, 2000, and 2010; (2) vital statistics data; and (3) official estimates. Results: A convergence of urban–rural IMR is found in most of the countries due to a period of accelerated improvements in lagging subpopulations. The subpopulation differential increases in relative terms only for Brazil and Colombia. Conclusions: There is no evidence that an urban penalty exists in Latin American infant mortality. By analysing cities according to their size, it is possible to see that improvements have followed the urbanization process, with not only urban areas but the main cities retaining the greatest advantages in infant mortality decline. Contribution: I have demonstrated the benefits of analysing the urban–rural gap through a continuum approach (by grouping cities according to size) to track the path of urban advantages in Latin American infant mortality.

中文翻译：

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拉丁美洲婴儿死亡率的城乡差异

背景：在过去的六十年中，拉丁美洲的婴儿死亡率急剧下降。该地区的健康转型始于主要城市，并且在城市化水平较高的国家中趋于更快地进行。尽管城乡死亡率差异一直以来都偏爱城市，但这些差距在国家，亚人群和地理区域之间差异很大。目的：我的目的是首先分析1980年至2010年期间七个拉丁美洲国家的城乡婴儿死亡率趋势，其次分析该地区是否出现了城市罚款。方法：我通过根据城乡地区和城市的大小区分来估计IMR。使用半参数回归模型产生年利率。该模型基于以下内容总结并预测了IMR趋势：（1）在1990年，2000年和2010年对19项人口普查使用的间接估算方法；（2）生命统计数据；（3）官方估算。结果：由于落后群体的加速发展，大多数国家的城乡IMR趋于一致。相对而言，亚人群差异仅在巴西和哥伦比亚有所增加。结论：没有证据表明拉丁美洲婴儿死亡率存在城市惩罚。通过根据城市规模进行分析，可以看到城市化进程已得到改善，不仅城市地区而且主要城市在婴儿死亡率下降方面保持最大优势。贡献：