Sex and the mission: the conflicting effects of early Christian missions on HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

Cag�, Julia; Rueda, Valeria

Abstract

This article investigates the long-term impact of historical missionary activity on HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. On the one hand, missionaries were the first to invest in modern medicine in the region. On the other hand, Christianity influenced sexual beliefs and behaviors that affect the risk of contagion. We build a new geocoded dataset locating Protestant and Catholic missions in the early 20th century, as well as the health facilities they invested in, that we combine with individual-level DHS data. With these data, we can address separately these two channels , within regions close to historical missionary settlements. First, we show that proximity to historical missionary health facilities decreases the likelihood of HIV; persistence in healthcare provision and safer sexual behaviors in the region explain this result. Second, we show that regions close to historical missionary settlements exhibit higher likelihood of HIV. This effect is driven by the Christian population in our sample. This suggests conversion to Christianity as a possible explanatory channel. Our findings are robust to alternative specifications addressing selection.

Citation

Cagé, J., & Rueda, V. (2020). Sex and the mission: the conflicting effects of early Christian missions on HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Demographic Economics, 86(3), 213-257. https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2019.16

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 24, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Sep 22, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-09
• Deposit Date: Sep 27, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 27, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Demographic Economics
• Print ISSN: 2054-0892
• Electronic ISSN: 2054-0906
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 86
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 213-257
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2019.16
• Keywords: Africa; Christianity; Historical persistence; Missions; Healthcare infrastructure; HIV/AIDS; Sexual behaviors JEL No: D72; N37; N77; 033; Z12; Z13 * We gratefully acknowledge the many helpful comments and suggestions from † Sciences Po Paris julia [dot]
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2693605
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-demographic-economics/article/sex-and-the-mission-the-conflicting-effects-of-early-christian-missions-on-hiv-in-subsaharan-africa/92D19923A52263903535C96F04984DEB
• Contract Date: Sep 27, 2019