Econ Papers Daily / 工作论文
性与生计：收入对危险性行为和伴侣选择的影响
Sex and Subsistence: Income Effects on Risky Sexual Behavior and Partner Selection
摘要
Whether to engage in sex and with whom are extremely consequential decisions for young women worldwide, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV rates are high and adolescent pregnancies are common. Yet little is known about the extent to which these decisions are financially motivated. We combine a randomized controlled trial of monthly cash assistance to female students at the University of Zambia with detailed, high-frequency data on sexual behavior and partner characteristics. We find that this temporary increase in income significantly changes women's sexual behavior. Treated participants are 5.1 percentage points less likely to have sex during the treatment period, and the rate of condomless sex falls by 30%. Among women who were not sexually active at baseline, the likelihood of having sex falls by 43%, and partner quality conditional on sex greatly improves. Financial assistance also reduces financial precarity, increasing food security, mental health, and cognitive capacity. These results can be rationalized with a dynamic model of partner search in which women can choose to search for boyfriends or high-income partners who provide financial support and bargain over both transfers and condom use. We conclude that a substantial share of sexual activity is financially motivated in this setting, even in a population not typically regarded as vulnerable. Increasing young women's income may be a useful tool for reducing the negative externalities of risky sex and improving match quality.
中文摘要
是否发生性行为以及与谁发生性行为，对全球年轻女性而言是极其重要的决定，尤其是在HIV感染率高且青少年怀孕常见的撒哈拉以南非洲。然而，人们对这些决定在多大程度上出于经济动机知之甚少。我们将一项向赞比亚大学女学生每月提供现金援助的随机对照试验，与关于性行为和伴侣特征的详细高频数据相结合。我们发现，这种收入的暂时增加显著改变了女性的性行为。处理组参与者在处理期间发生性行为的可能性低5.1个百分点，无安全套性行为的发生率下降30%。在基线时没有性行为的女性中，发生性行为的可能性下降43%，且在发生性行为的条件下伴侣质量大幅提高。经济援助还减少了财务不稳定，提高了粮食安全、心理健康和认知能力。这些结果可以用一个动态伴侣搜寻模型来解释：女性可以选择寻找提供经济支持的男友或高收入伴侣，并就转移支付和安全套使用进行议价。我们得出结论：在这一情境中，相当大比例的性行为出于经济动机，即使在一个通常不被视为脆弱的人群中也是如此。提高年轻女性的收入可能是减少危险性行为负外部性和改善匹配质量的有用工具。