Thirumurthy, Harsha, Joshua Graff Zivin, and Markus Goldstein. 2008. “The Economic Impact of AIDS Treatment: Labor Supply in Western Kenya.” Journal of Human Resources 43(3): 511–552.
Using longitudinal survey data collected in collaboration with a treatment program, this paper estimates the economic impacts of antiretroviral treatment. The responses in two outcomes are studied: (1) labor supply of treated adult AIDS patients; and (2) labor supply of individuals in patients’ households. Within six months after treatment initiation, there is a 20 percent increase in the likelihood of the patient participating in the labor force and a 35 percent increase in weekly hours worked. Young boys in treated patients’ households work significantly less after treatment initiation, while girls and adult household members do not change their labor supply.
Harsha Thirumurthy is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Joshua Graff Zivin is an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University and a faculty research fellow at NBER. Markus Goldstein is a senior researcher at the World Bank. This project would not have been possible without the support of the Academic Model for Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS (AMPATH) and members of the IU-Kenya partnership. The authors have benefited from discussions with Richard Akresh, Michael Boozer, Joseph Altonji, Janet Currie, Germano Mwabu, Matt Neidell, T. Paul Schultz, Tavneet Suri, Christopher Udry, and participants in seminars at the Center for Global Development, the International Food Policy Research Institute, Michigan State University, RAND, University of Maryland, University of Pittsburgh, Yale University, the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale, and the World Bank. They would also like to thank two anonymous referees for invaluable comments. The household survey was implemented under the direction of Mabel Nangami and the authors. Giovanna d’Adda assisted in managing the second round of the survey and the data collection was facilitated by the excellent field supervision of Irene Muhunzu. The authors also acknowledge the tremendous contributions of Andrew Anyembe, Caroline Amuyunzu, Jayne Chaina, Norbert Ketter, James Mungai, June Ochanda, and Jacklyne Tetee for administering questionnaires; and Chelimo Cherono, David Marende, Maurice Mungai, Florence Oduor, and Martha Simiyu for computer entry of questionnaires. The authors thank Kara Wools-Kaloustian and Beverly Musick for guidance in using the AMPATH medical records. Financial support for this project was received from the Economic and Social Research Council (UK), Pfizer, Inc., The World Bank, Yale University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) through a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to Michael Merson, M.D. (No. P30MH62294), the Social Science Research Council, and the Calderone Program at Columbia University. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the World Bank or its member countries. The household survey data used in this article can be obtained beginning January 2009 through December 2012 from Harsha Thirumurthy, School of Public Health, Box 7411, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, harsha@unc.edu. The medical data used in this article are the property of AMPATH treatment program and can only be obtained by direct permission from them. Interested researchers should contact William Tierney, Regenstrief Institute, Inc., Health Information and Translational Sciences Bldg. (HITS), 410 West 10th Street, Suite 2000, Indianapolis, IN 46202, wtierney@iupui.edu.