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AIDS mortality and its effect on the labor market: Evidence from South Africa

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  • Chicoine, Luke

Abstract

This paper investigates how HIV/AIDS has impacted the labor market in South Africa, focusing on its effect on wages and employment. This is done by matching individual level data with group specific cumulative AIDS mortality rates. Exploiting the panel nature of the data, I remove individuals whose productivity is most likely impacted by HIV/AIDS, and find evidence that cumulative AIDS mortality has led to reductions in wages of between 3 and 6% for the African population group (Black South Africans). Furthermore, I also find evidence that the epidemic has lowered employment in South Africa. This result is concentrated among those with the lowest levels of education and employment. Although not large in magnitude, these effects are widespread across a significant portion of the population, contributing to a substantial loss of income throughout the South African economy.

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  • Chicoine, Luke, 2012. "AIDS mortality and its effect on the labor market: Evidence from South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 256-269.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:98:y:2012:i:2:p:256-269
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2011.08.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Mansour, Hani & Rees, Daniel I. & Reeves, James, 2020. "Voting and Political Participation in the Aftermath of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic," IZA Discussion Papers 13442, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Dewin Iván Pérez Fuentes & Jorge Leonardo Castillo Loaiza, 2013. "Incidencias de las muertes y la oferta laboral en la generación de capital humano en el departamento de Bolívar," Revista de Economía del Caribe 14754, Universidad del Norte.
    3. Joao Amador & Antonio R. dos Santos, 2018. "Thirty years of economic growth in Africa," NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series wp1802, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
    4. Luke Chicoine & Emily Lyons & Alexia Sahue, 2021. "The impact of HIV/AIDS on human capital investment in Sub‐Saharan Africa: New evidence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(6), pages 842-852, September.
    5. Hani Mansour & Daniel I. Rees & James M. Reeves, 2020. "Voting and Political Participation in the Aftermath of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic," NBER Working Papers 27504, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. M. V. Lee Badgett & Christopher S. Carpenter & Maxine J. Lee & Dario Sansone, 2024. "A Review of the Economics of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(3), pages 948-994, September.
    7. Thomas, RA, 2014. "Foreign aid and HIV infections: evidence of causal effects from country-level panel data," Working Papers 18673, Imperial College, London, Imperial College Business School.
    8. 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.
    9. Hani Mansour & Daniel I. Rees & James Reeves, 2020. "Voting and Political Participation in the Aftermath of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic," CESifo Working Paper Series 8433, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    HIV/AIDS; Mortality; South Africa; Wages; Employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General

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