Mortality risk information, survival expectations and sexual behaviours

Ciancio, A. , Delavande, A., Kohler, H.-P. and Kohler, I. V. (2024) Mortality risk information, survival expectations and sexual behaviours. Economic Journal, (doi: 10.1093/ej/uead116) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

We investigate the impact of a randomised information intervention about population-level mortality on health investment and subjective health expectations. Our focus is on risky sex in a high-HIV-prevalence environment. Treated individuals are less likely to engage in risky sexual practices one year after the intervention, with, for example, an 8% increase in abstinence. We collected detailed data on individuals’ subjective expectations about their own and population survival, as well as other important health outcomes. Our findings emphasise the significance of integrating subjective expectation data in field experiments to identify the pathways that lead to behavioural change.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: We gratefully acknowledge the generous support for the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The benefits-of-knowledge health information intervention was primarily supported by NIA R21 AG053763, with complementary funding for the MLSFH Mature Adults Cohort through the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development (SNF r4d Grant No. 400640 160374). The MLSFH has been supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD, Grant Nos. R03 HD05 8976, R21 HD050653, R01 HD044228, R01 HD053781, R01 HD087391), as well as by the Population Aging Research Center and the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania (supported respectively by NIA P30 AG12836 and NICHD R24 HD044964). Delavande also acknowledges funding from the Economic and Social Research Council Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (ES/L009153/1 and ES/S012486/1). Kohler also acknowledges funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA, R03-AG-069817). This study is registered in the AEA RCT Registry (AEARCTR0004965). The project received IRB approval from the University of Pennsylvania (Approval Number 826828) and from the University of Malawi College of Medicine Research and Ethics Committee (Approval Number P.04/17/2160).
• Keywords: Subjective mortality expectations, HIV/AIDS, sexual behaviour, lifecycle decision-making.
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ciancio, Dr Alberto
• Authors: Ciancio, A., Delavande, A., Kohler, H.-P., and Kohler, I. V.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Economics
• Journal Name: Economic Journal
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 0013-0133
• ISSN (Online): 1468-0297
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024
• First Published: First published in Economic Journal 2024
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence