[lbo-talk] Infant Mortality Question

[WD]

I recall reading somewhere credible that social scientists consider
infant mortality to be one of the best ways to measure the overall
"social health" of a particular society.  This sounds right to me
given that infant death rates are probably a function of interrelated
things like education, access to health care, poverty, nutrition, etc.

So, is it true that infant mortality rates tell more about social
health than other statistics?  Are there other statistics that --
taken by themselves -- reveal just as much (or more) about overall
social health?

Thanks,
-WD