Medication against conflict

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Berlanda, Andrea; Cervellati, Matteo; Esposito, Elena; Rohner, Dominic; Sunde, Uwe
• 署名单位: University of Padua; University of Bologna; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; University of Lausanne; University of Munich; University of Turin
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103306
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: hiv; CONFLICT; Social Conflict; ART expansion; trust; AFRICA; Health intervention

摘要

Adverse health conditions and social conflict constitute major impediments for developing countries. The potential for reducing social conflict by successful public health interventions is largely unknown. This paper closes this gap by evaluating the effect of a major health intervention-the successful expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. Combining exogenous time variation in access to ART with cross-sectional variation in the scope for treatment for identification, we find that the ART expansion significantly reduced the number of violent events in African countries and sub -national regions. The effect pertains to social conflict, not civil war. The evidence also shows that the effect is related to health improvements, greater approval of government policy, and increased trust in political institutions. Results of a counterfactual simulation reveal that the ART expansion reduced the number of social conflict events by about 10%.