The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Health Capital and Economic Growth: A Panel Study of 38 Countries from 1999 - 2005

• Published in: International journal of management 2010-04, Vol.27 (1), p.153
• Main Authors: Gardner, Lara K, Lee, Sang H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Consumption; Datasets; Economic growth; Expected values; GDP; Gross Domestic Product; Growth models; HIV; Human capital; Human immunodeficiency virus; Immune system; Impact analysis; International; Investments; Labor force; Life expectancy; Mortality; Per capita; Population growth; Studies
• ISSN: 0813-0183

This paper analyzes the impacts of the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus and full-blown acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) on a country's human capital and economic growth. Using data from the World Development Indicators and the International Health Organization, we construct a panel data set of 38 countries from 1990-2005 which allows us to explore the dynamic relationships between HIV/AIDS, human capital, and economic growth within countries overtime. We control for unobserved country-specific effects that may be correlated with observed determinants of GDP by using a fixed-effects estimation method. Economic growth is measured as change in real GDP per capita, and we proxy health capital with the difference between measured life expectancy at birth for the total population and a relative benchmark. Our results indicate that HIV/AIDS prevalence has a detrimental impact on GDP per capita by reducing human capital within countries over time. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]