Title:  The Effect of Anti-Retroviral Availability on Employment Outcomes in South Africa

Abstract:  This study examines the economic impact of the government provision of free anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in South Africa between the program’s inception in 2004 and mid-2008.  I make use of geographic and temporal variation in access to ART to examine changes in labor force participation and employment when ART becomes available locally.  I use geographic coordinates to link South African Labour Force Survey (LFS) data to newly available data on patient enrollment at public ART clinics and perform fixed effects estimation at the municipality level. Preliminary results suggest that having more patients enrolled in ART in a municipality is associated with an increased likelihood of labor force participation and employment for women, but a slight decrease in labor force participation and no change in employment for men. Better alignment and coordination of health and labor policy can improve both the efficacy and the cost-effectiveness of government policies in both arenas.