HIV and fertility in Africa: first evidence from population-based surveys

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Population Economics
Year: 2013
Volume: 26
Issue: 3
Pages: 835-853

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

The historical pattern of the demographic transition suggests that fertility declines follow mortality declines, followed by a rise in human capital accumulation and economic growth. The HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens to reverse this path. We utilize recent rounds of the demographic and health surveys that link an individual woman’s fertility outcomes to her HIV status based on testing. The data allow us to distinguish the effect of own positive HIV status on fertility (which may be due to lower fecundity and other physiological reasons) from the behavioral response to higher mortality risk, as measured by the local community HIV prevalence. We show that although HIV-infected women have significantly lower fertility, local community HIV prevalence has no significant effect on noninfected women’s fertility. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:spr:jopoec:v:26:y:2013:i:3:p:835-853
Journal Field
Growth
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25