• demographic transition
• economic development
• fertility
• HIV/AIDS
• Sub-Saharan Africa

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of endogenous fertility and public intervention by means of a range of alternative modeling frameworks for the study of the complex interplay between population dynamics, the spread of a fatal disease such as HIV/AIDS, health and longevity, their impact on individual fertility behavior, and their ultimate outcome in terms of economic development. The collection of models considered will range from overlapping generations models incorporating individuals’ health status and consequently also demographic behaviour (eg Chakraborti 2004, Chakraborti et al 2010) up to complex macrosimulation models with realistic population and HIV dynamics,interacting with economic variables. For example as for the former line of investigation we intend to expand the model of Chakraborti et al 2010 to include individuals’ rational fertility behavior according to different kind of models developed in the economic literature (Becker 1960, Becker-Murphy-Tamura 1990, Galor and Weil 1996) jointly with public health investments having the aim of producing positive external effects on the macro-economy.