Remarriage and Migration in Rural Malawi

Philip A. Anglewicz, University of Pennsylvania
Georges Reniers, Princeton University

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a dramatic effect on marriage patterns in sub-Saharan Africa. Research consistently shows that individuals who are HIV positive are more likely to experience marital dissolution, either through divorce or widowhood. However, much less is known about what happens after marital dissolution. Are HIV positive individuals less likely to remarry than HIV negative? Since at least one spouse typically migrates after a marriage ends, such questions related to remarriage are difficult to address using longitudinal data, due to potential selection bias of migrants. Using a unique set of longitudinal data that includes a sample of migrants, we investigate the relationship between HIV infection and remarriage among rural Malawians. With these data, we examine remarriage patters for HIV positive individuals, and address whether HIV positive individuals who migrate are more likely to remarry than HIV positive individuals who remain in their residence.