The Welfare Effects of Integrating HIV/AIDS Treatment with Cash or in Kind Transfers
Maastricht Graduate School of Governance Working Paper / 2009 / WP007
37 Pages Posted: 26 Oct 2009
Date Written: October 26, 2009
Abstract
The fight against HIV/AIDS involves the implementation of various social protection programs to improve the welfare of patients and affected households. Free or subsidized AIDS treatment is now being provided to at various scales in the afflicted regions of the world. In recent years, initiatives integrating AIDS treatment with social transfers have emerged thus raising questions on the welfare effects of this integration and if these effects are different or larger than AIDS treatment alone. The objective of this review is to establish the following: a) to assess the welfare impact of integrating AIDS treatment with cash or in kind transfers and compare them to the welfare effects of AIDS treatment alone and b) to determine the effects of the cash transfer and AIDS treatment combination versus the in kind transfer and AIDS treatment combination. The authors review economic theory and empirical studies and find that AIDS treatment alone improves patients’ health and survival rates while increasing labour force participation rates. Integrating AIDS treatment with cash or in kind transfers theoretically has ambiguous effect on labour supply, while empirical evidence shows improvements in patients’ health, food consumption, labour activity and adherence to treatment when food transfers are integrated with AIDS treatment. Some evidence shows that cash transfers increased household income and food consumption when integrated with AIDS treatment. However since current empirical studies are few , the authors come to a conclusion that there are opportunities for further research especially direct comparing AIDS treatment alone and its integration with cash or in kind transfers.
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, cash transfers, in kind transfers, welfare, HIV/AIDS treatment
JEL Classification: I12, I38, I32, D11, D60
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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