Mortality Risk and Human Capital Investment: the Impact of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
Fortson, J. G.
Review of Economics and Statistics 93(1): 1-15
2011
ISSN/ISBN: 0034-6535 Document Number: 229324
Over the past several decades, the HIV/Aids epidemic has dramatically altered patterns of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, with potential consequences for human capital investment and economic growth. Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys for fifteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa, I estimate the relationship between regional Hiv prevalence and the change in individual human capital investment over time. Consistent with a simple model of human capital investment incorporating mortality risk, I find that areas with higher levels of Hiv experienced relatively larger declines in schooling.