Risky Sex in a Risky World: Sexual Behavior in an HIV/AIDS Environment

摘要

In spite of increased awareness of HIV/AIDS, unprotected casual sex is still widespread in many HIV-infected countries. In this paper, a two-period model for sexual decisions under uncertainty is developed. The results suggest that, for individuals with limited access to HIV treatment, the uncertainty about their future health could be an important factor driving unsafe sexual practices. The results support the empirical finding of a weak link in poor countries between sexual behavior, HIV frequency,and HIV knowledge. Therefore, this suggests that an AIDS policy needs to be calibrated in order to fit within different social contexts.