Abstract
We study the long-term determinants of the high rates of female HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on the transatlantic slave trade. Our hypothesis is that the latter contributed to the contemporaneous diffusion of polygyny and associated forms of social and sexual behavior that are conducive to HIV infection. We uncover that an increase in the rate of historical slave density causes a sizeable and robust increase in the rate of HIV prevalence, with a more marked effect among married women, and particularly those that do not live with their husbands. A higher slave density also induces more widespread female infidelity. These patterns are consistent with the hypothesis that higher-rank, non-cohabiting, younger co-wives are driven to infidelity by marital dissatisfaction. The resulting risky sexual behavior increases their likelihood to contract and transmit the virus, through the husbands, to their faithful co-wives, with a multiplicative effect among women.
Highlights
HIV/AIDS is one of the most deathly diseases in Africa
This heterogenous influence can be explained with the actual decline of its prevalence among younger generations, and with the evidence we present on underreporting of the practice, a phenomenon which is likely to be especially common among younger women and in the more progressive coastal areas where the transatlantic slave trade was more intense
The present paper builds on this literature by revisiting the empirical analysis of the impact of the slave trade on polygyny, in light of the hypothesis that the associated social and sexual mores may contribute to our main outcome of interest, namely, the diffusion of HIV infection
Summary
HIV/AIDS is one of the most deathly diseases in Africa. In particular, within sub-Saharan Africa, HIV infection is much more common among women, and especially young ones. Our main contribution is to show the existence of a statistical association running from the slave trade to HIV infection rates This association is channelled through the social and sexual behavior which is associated with polygyny, including separate living arrangements, especially for younger co-wives, and their relatively more frequent extramarital partnerships. Mantovanelli (2014) and Cage and Rueda (2017) analyze the influence of the Christian missions established in Africa during the colonial period The former finds that exposure to Catholic missions is associated with a decrease in current HIV infection rates, since Catholicism, relative to Protestantism, is positively associated with the adoption of safer forms of sexual behavior, despite its negative impact on the propensity of condom use. The Online Appendix contains further information about the data and additional tables with robustness checks
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