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The economic consequences of AIDS mortality in South Africa

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  • Ardington, Cally
  • Bärnighausen, Till
  • Case, Anne
  • Menendez, Alicia

Abstract

We quantify the impact of adult deaths on household economic wellbeing, using a large longitudinal dataset spanning more than a decade. Verbal autopsies allow us to distinguish AIDS mortality from that due to other causes. The timing of the lower socioeconomic status observed for households with AIDS deaths suggests that the socioeconomic gradient in AIDS mortality is being driven primarily by poor households being at higher risk for AIDS, rather than AIDS impoverishing the households. Following a death, households that experienced an AIDS death are observed being poorer still. However, the additional socioeconomic loss following an AIDS death is very similar to the loss observed from sudden death. Funeral expenses can explain some of the impoverishing effects of death in the household. In contrast, the loss of an employed member cannot. To date, antiretroviral therapy has not changed the socioeconomic status gradient observed in AIDS deaths.

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  • Ardington, Cally & Bärnighausen, Till & Case, Anne & Menendez, Alicia, 2014. "The economic consequences of AIDS mortality in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 48-60.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:111:y:2014:i:c:p:48-60
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2014.08.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anne Case & Anu Garrib & Alicia Menendez & Analia Olgiati, 2013. "Paying the Piper: The High Cost of Funerals in South Africa," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(1), pages 1-20.
    2. Achyuta R. Adhvaryu & Kathleen Beegle, 2012. "The Long-Run Impacts of Adult Deaths on Older Household Members in Tanzania," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(2), pages 245-277.
    3. Omar Mahmoud, Toman & Thiele, Rainer, 2013. "Does Prime-Age Mortality Reduce Per-Capita Household Income? Evidence from Rural Zambia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 51-62.
    4. Anne Case & Alicia Menendez, 2011. "Requiescat in Pace? The Consequences of High-Priced Funerals in South Africa," NBER Chapters, in: Explorations in the Economics of Aging, pages 351-373, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Anne Case & Cally Ardington, 2006. "The impact of parental death on school outcomes: Longitudinal evidence from South Africa," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(3), pages 401-420, August.
    6. Elo, Irma T. & Preston, Samuel H., 1996. "Educational differentials in mortality: United States, 1979-1985," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 47-57, January.
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    2. Vesco, Paola & Baliki, Ghassan & Brück, Tilman & Döring, Stefan & Eriksson, Anneli & Fjelde, Hanne & Guha-Sapir, Debarati & Hall, Jonathan & Knutsen, Carl Henrik & Leis, Maxine R. & Mueller, Hannes & , 2025. "The impacts of armed conflict on human development: A review of the literature," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    3. Gift Dafuleya & Fiona Tregenna, 2021. "How effectively do households insure food consumption and assets against funeral expenses? The case of urban Zimbabwe," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 987-1021, December.
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    6. Oscar David Marcenaro‐Gutierrez & Luis Alejandro Lopez‐Agudo, 2020. "Does Teacher Subject Knowledge Contribute to Student Academic Performance in Developing and Least Developed Countries?," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 88(3), pages 267-297, September.

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