The Spillover Effects of HIV on Children in Southern Africa

I-Heng Lee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Southern Africa has among the largest number of adults living with HIV worldwide, with the life expectancies of its population lowered as a result of premature death from AIDS. Given this reduced life span, it is necessary to understand how a positive parental HIV diagnosis impacts future generations, as the outcomes of children will affect the long-run economic growth of a country. Furthermore, in resource poor settings, there is usually a trade-off between the quantity and quality of children. Using recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for countries in the region and propensity score matching, this paper aims to better understand how maternal decisions regarding her offspring differs between HIV positive and HIV negative mothers.