Document Type
Working Paper
Date of this Version
1-29-2020
Abstract
Individuals in low-income settings are often overly pessimistic about their own survival, suggesting that better knowledge about survival risks might encourage investments in health. This paper provides evidence from a randomized experiment that provided mature adults aged 45+ in Malawi with information about mortality risks. Treated individuals are less likely to engage in risky sexual practices one year after the intervention, and they increase other forward-looking behaviors such as investments in agriculture. Expectations of HIV+ people living longer, which makes the pool of potential partners riskier, are a primary driver of reduced sexual risk taking in response to the intervention.
Keywords
subjective mortality expectations, HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior, lifecycle decision-making
Recommended Citation
Ciancio, Alberto, Adeline Delavande, Hans-Peter Kohler, and Iliana Kohler. 2020. "Mortality Risk Information, Survival Expectations and Sexual Behaviors." University of Pennsylvania Population Center Working Paper (PSC/PARC), 2020-39. https://repository.upenn.edu/psc_publications/39.
Included in
Diseases Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons
Date Posted: 29 January 2020