Working Paper: NBER ID: w12689
Authors: Joshua S. Graff Zivin; Harsha Thirumurthy; Markus Goldstein
Abstract: 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.
Keywords: HIV/AIDS; ARV Treatment; Child Welfare; Schooling Outcomes; Nutrition
JEL Codes: I12; I21; O12; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| children's weekly hours of school attendance (I21) | children's long-term socioeconomic outcomes (I24) |
| ARV treatment (C22) | children's weekly hours of school attendance (I21) |
| ARV treatment (C22) | boys' weekly hours of school attendance (J22) |
| ARV treatment (C22) | short-term nutritional status of young children (I32) |
| ARV treatment (C22) | improved child welfare outcomes (I39) |
| ARV treatment (C22) | significant long-run macroeconomic benefits (E65) |