Appendix 2.

Comparing univariate distributions for skewness and Kurtosis statistics: example for health outcomes

		Distribution
Variables	Variable form logged	Skewness	Kurtosis
Maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births (2005)	No	1.15	3.48
Natural log of maternal mortality rate	Yes	−0.35	1.78
Maternal mortality counts	No	4.79	25.24
Natural log of maternal mortality counts	Yes	−0.17	1.81
Under 5 child mortality per 1,000 live births (2005)	No	0.98	2.65
Natural log of child mortality rate	Yes	−0.12	1.64
Child mortality counts	No	4.77	27.11
Natural log of child mortality counts	Yes	−0.04	2.07
TB cause of death per 100,000 (2004)	No	2.32	9.66
Natural log of TB cause	Yes	−0.19	1.99