Does Education Affect HIV Status? Evidence from five African Countries

Damien de Walque

The World Bank Economic Review, 2009, vol. 23, issue 2, 209-233

Abstract: Data from the first five Demographic and Health Surveys to include HIV testing for a representative sample of the adult population are used to analyze the socioeconomic correlates of HIV infection and associated sexual behavior. Emerging from a wealth of country relevant results, some important findings can be generalized. First, successive marriages are a significant risk factor. Second, contrary to prima facie evidence, education is not positively associated with HIV status. However, schooling is one of the most consistent predictors of behavior and knowledge: education level predicts protective behaviors such as condom use, use of counseling and testing, discussion of AIDS between spouses, and knowledge about HIV/AIDS, but it also predicts a higher level of infidelity and a lower level of abstinence. Copyright The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / the world bank . All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2009
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