AIDS Treatment and Intrahousehold Resource Allocations: Children's Nutrition and Schooling in Kenya / Joshua S. Graff Zivin, Harsha Thirumurthy, Markus Goldstein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Graff Zivin, Joshua S.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Thirumurthy, Harsha.

Goldstein, Markus.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w12689.

NBER working paper series no. w12689

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

AIDS Treatment and Intrahousehold Resource Allocations

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2006.

Summary:

The provision of life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment has emerged as a key component of the global response to HIV/AIDS, but very little is known about the impact of this intervention on the welfare of children in the households of treated persons. We estimate the impact of ARV treatment on children's schooling and nutrition outcomes using longitudinal household survey data collected in collaboration with a treatment program in western Kenya. We find that children's weekly hours of school attendance increase by over 20 percent within six months after treatment is initiated for the adult household member. For boys in treatment households, these increases closely follow their reduced market labor supply. Similarly, young children's short-term nutritional status--as measured by their weight-for-height Z-score--also improves dramatically. We argue that these treatment effects will be considerably larger when compared to the counterfactual scenario of no ARV treatment. The results provide evidence on how intrahousehold resource allocation is altered in response to significant health improvements. Since the improvements in children's schooling and nutrition at these critical early ages will affect their socio-economic outcomes in adulthood, the widespread provision of ARV treatment is likely to generate significant long-run macroeconomic benefits.

Notes:

Print version record

November 2006.