Center on Pacific Economies Research Grant Recipient
Craig McIntosh
Assistant Professor of Economics
Project Location: MalawiProject Description:
The researchers’ main aim is to improve understanding of the effects of schooling and income on sexual behavior and HIV infection among school-aged women in Malawi. They seek to understand the causal links between income, schooling status, certain sexual behaviors, and ultimately HIV risk – all critical for informing effective policy interventions. Malawi is particularly important for this study as it has an estimated HIV prevalence rate among prime age adults of 14 percent, ranking it eighth in the world in the severity of its HIV/AIDS epidemic. IR/PS students will help with preparing and cleaning the data now coming out of the field. A Ph.D. student will be hired to compile detailed maps which include the poverty maps for Malawi and a complete roster of every household and school in the study, all of which have been geo-referenced. One IR/PS student will spend six months in Malawi to conduct a school-level survey, and to establish the rubric for monitoring and verifying school attendance.
