Does Prime-Age Mortality Reduce Per-Capita Household Income? Evidence from Rural Zambia

SummaryThis paper evaluates the impact of prime-age mortality on per-adult equivalent incomes of surviving household members in rural Zambia. The analysis uses difference-in-difference matching techniques and controls for spillover effects by excluding households from the control group if members departed or joined for reasons related to prime-age mortality. The latter is required because per-adult equivalent incomes of non-afflicted households may be indirectly affected, e.g., by hosting orphans. We find evidence of negative spillover effects on non-afflicted households. However, the death of a prime-age member has no significant short-run effect on per-adult equivalent income of afflicted households.