Is sex like driving? HIV prevention and risk compensation

Nicholas Wilson, Wentao Xiong and Christine L. Mattson

Journal of Development Economics, 2014, vol. 106, issue C, 78-91

Abstract: Risk compensation has been called the “Achilles' heel” of HIV prevention policies (Cassell et al., 2006). This paper examines the behavioral response to male circumcision, a major HIV prevention policy currently being implemented throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa. Contrary to the presumption of risk compensation, we find that the response due to the perceived reduction in HIV transmission appears to have been a reduction in risky sexual behavior. We suggest a mechanism for this finding: circumcision may reduce fatalism about acquiring HIV/AIDS and increase the salience of the tradeoff between engaging in additional risky behavior and avoiding acquiring HIV. We also find what appears to be a competing effect that does not operate through the circumcision recipient's belief about the reduction in the risk of acquiring HIV.

Keywords: Beliefs; HIV/AIDS; Kenya; Male circumcision; Risk compensation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D81 D84 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387813001284
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:106:y:2014:i:c:p:78-91

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2013.08.012

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Development Economics is currently edited by M. R. Rosenzweig

More articles in Journal of Development Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().