American Economic Journal Applied Economics · 2011 · 444 citations · 26 references
Public HealthHealth BehaviorInfectious Disease ControlAdolescent HealthHiv ControlHiv PreventionAdolescent Hiv PreventionHealth Risk BehaviorsHiv EpidemiologyPrevention Of Sexual TransmissionSexual HealthSexual Health PreventionBehavioral Hiv PreventionHiv Risk ReductionRelative Risk EstimationRelative Risk ReductionSelf-reported DataSexual Behavior ChangeSexual Risk Behavior PreventionUnprotected Sex
The study uses a randomized experiment to test whether providing risk information changes Kenyan teenagers’ sexual behavior. The experiment randomized information about the relative HIV risk associated with partner age. Information on relative HIV risk by partner age reduced teen pregnancy by 28 % and led teens to substitute older partners for same‑age partners, whereas the abstinence‑only curriculum had no effect. JEL codes: D83, I12, J13, O12.
We use a randomized experiment to test whether and what information changes teenagers' sexual behavior in Kenya. Providing information on the relative risk of HIV infection by partner's age led to a 28 percent decrease in teen pregnancy, an objective proxy for the incidence of unprotected sex. Self-reported sexual behavior data suggests substitution away from older (riskier) partners and toward same-age partners. In contrast, the official abstinence-only HIV curriculum had no impact on teen pregnancy. These results suggest that teenagers are responsive to risk information, but their sexual behavior is more elastic on the intensive than on the extensive margin. (JEL D83, I12, J13, O12)
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The Demand for, and Impact of, Learning HIV Status
Rebecca Thornton · American Economic Review · 2008 · 520 citations · Full text