Clara Sievert (CERGE-EI) 27.2.2025

It is our pleasure that Clara Sievert (CERGE-EI) will present on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at 12:45 in room RB437 about the topic “Supernatural Beliefs about Illness and Modern Medicine Use: Evidence from the DRC.“ 

Registration is not required and anyone who would like to attend is warmly invited.

It is also possible to participate online via MS Teams at this link.

ABSTRACT: In many societies around the world, people attribute illness to supernatural forces, including deities, spirits, and malevolent agents. Using observational data from sub-Saharan Africa and an original large-scale survey in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I document the nearuniversality of supernatural beliefs about illness – 94% of respondents hold at least one such belief – and their consequences: lower use of and beliefs in the effectiveness of modern medicine, and higher stigma toward those with illness. To test whether these beliefs can be shifted, I conduct a field experiment randomizing showing an informational video about the biomedical cause and treatment of epilepsy, a prevalent disease commonly associated with supernatural forces. The intervention shifts respondents’ beliefs away from supernatural causes and toward modern medicine’s effectiveness, not only for epilepsy but for other conditions. Moreover, the intervention reduces stigma toward those with epilepsy and increases take-up of free hospital consultations for the condition by 50%.

BIO: Clara Sievert is an economist, researcher, and educator. Her research lies in the fields of political economy, development economics, and health with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa and primarily uses original survey data collection and field experiments.