Copper mining is one of the largest economic activities in Zambia, comprising close
to ten percent of GDP. Between 2003 and 2008, the price of copper increased by over
400 percent. In response, copper production in Zambia increased by 70 percent and
employment in copper mining increased by nearly 200 percent. This paper examines
the effect of this economic shock on sexual behavior and the spread of HIV/AIDS in
Zambia. I use nationally representative survey data on sexual behavior before and during
the copper boom in conjunction with detailed spatial data on the location of survey
respondents and copper mines. The results indicate that the copper boom reduced
transactional sex, multiple partnerships, alcohol use at sex, coital frequency, pregnancy
rates, and marital rates in the copper mining cities. These effects were concentrated
among young adults and selective in-migration to the copper mining cities appears to
have contributed to the reduction in sexual activity.