In this paper, we evaluate the quality of survey data collected by the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project by investigating four potential sources of bias: sample representativeness, interviewer effects, response unreliability and sample attrition. We discuss the results of our...

In the absence of HIV testing, how do rural Malawians assess their HIV status? In this paper, we use a unique dataset that includes respondents’ HIV status as well as their subjective likelihood of HIV infection. These data show that many rural Malawians overestimate their likelihood of...

A large and increasing proportion of HIV transmissions in sub-Saharan Africa occur within marriage. Condom use within marriage could, therefore, be an important prevention strategy, but there is considerable debate about whether married couples would be willing to use condoms. This paper...

Intergenerational transfer patterns in sub-Saharan Africa are poorly understood, despite the alleged importance of support networks to ameliorate the complex implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on families. We estimate the age patterns and the multiple directions of transfer flows in rural...

AIDS morbidity and mortality are expected to have a large impact on households’ labor supply in rural Malawi since they reduce the time that adults can spend on production for subsistence and on income generating activities. However, the data demands for estimating this impact are high,...

Research on HIV infection and sexual behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa typically focuses on individuals aged 15–49 years, under the assumption that both become less relevant for older individuals. We test this assumption using data from rural Malawi to compare sexual behaviour and HIV infection...