The Economic Impact of AIDS Treatment: Labor Supply in Western Kenya

Harsha Thirumurthy (hthirumurthy@cgdev.org), Joshua Graff Zivin and Markus Goldstein
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Harsha Thirumurthy: Center for Global Development

Working Papers from Economic Growth Center, Yale University

Abstract: Using longitudinal survey data from western Kenya, this paper estimates the economic impacts of antiretroviral treatment. The responses in two important outcomes are studied: (1) labor supply of adult AIDS patients receiving treatment; and (2) labor supply of patients’ household members. We find that within six months after treatment initiation, there is a 20 percent increase in patients’ likelihood of participating in the labor force and a 35 percent increase in weekly hours worked. Since patient health would continue to decline without treatment, these labor supply responses are underestimates of the impact of treatment on the treated. The upper bound of the treatment impact, based on plausible assumptions about the counterfactual, is considerably larger. The responses in household members’labor supply are heterogeneous, with young boys and women work significiantly less after initiation of treatment. The effects on child labor are important since they suggest potential schooling impacts from treatment.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS; ARV Treatment; Labor Supply; Child Labor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I3 J2 O1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2006-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-dev and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Economic Impact of AIDS Treatment: Labor Supply in Western Kenya (2008)
Working Paper: The Economic Impact of AIDS Treatment: Labor Supply in Western Kenya (2006)
Working Paper: The Economic Impact of AIDS Treatment: Labor Supply in Western Kenya (2005)
Working Paper: The Economic Impact of AIDS Treatment: Labor Supply in Western Kenya (2005)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:egc:wpaper:947

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