TY  - JOUR
AU  - Zivin,Joshua S. Graff
AU  - Thirumurthy,Harsha
AU  - Goldstein,Markus
TI  - AIDS Treatment and Intrahousehold Resource Allocations: Children's Nutrition and Schooling in Kenya
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 12689
PY  - 2006
Y2  - November 2006
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12689
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12689.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Joshua S. Graff Zivin
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0519
La Jolla, CA 92093-0519
Tel: 858/822-6438
E-Mail: jgraffzivin@ucsd.edu

Harsha Thirumurthy
University of North Carolina-Chapel-Hill
E-Mail: harsha@unc.edu

Markus Goldstein
Poverty Reduction Group
MSN MC4-415
1818 H Street, NW
Washington DC 20433
E-Mail: mgoldstein@worldbank.org
M3  - presented at "Health Care Program Meeting", October 20, 2006
AB  - 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.
ER  -