TY  - JOUR
AU  - Young,Alwyn
TI  - The Gift of the Dying: The Tragedy of AIDS and the Welfare of Future African Generations
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 10991
PY  - 2004
Y2  - December 2004
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10991
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10991.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Alwyn Young
London School of EconomicsAB  - This paper simulates the impact of the AIDS epidemic on future living standards in South Africa. I emphasize two competing effects. On the one hand, the epidemic is likely to have a detrimental impact on the human capital accumulation of orphaned children. On the other hand, widespread community infection lowers fertility, both directly, through a reduction in the willingness to engage in unprotected sexual activity, and indirectly, by increasing the scarcity of labour and the value of a woman's time. I find that even with the most pessimistic assumptions concerning reductions in educational attainment, the fertility effect dominates. The AIDS epidemic, on net, enhances the future per capita consumption possibilities of the South African economy.
ER  -