Demand for self-tests: Evidence from a Becker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism field experiment

Patrick Aylward; Hildah Essendi; Kristen Little; Nicholas Wilson

doi:10.1002/hec.3998

Demand for self-tests: Evidence from a Becker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism field experiment

Health Econ. 2020 Apr;29(4):489-507. doi: 10.1002/hec.3998. Epub 2020 Jan 21.

Authors

Patrick Aylward¹, Hildah Essendi², Kristen Little¹, Nicholas Wilson³

Affiliations

¹ Population Services International, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
² Population Services International, Nairobi, Kenya.
³ Department of Economics, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, USA.

PMID: 31965689
DOI: 10.1002/hec.3998

Abstract

Self-tests offer one approach for reducing frictions underlying low demand for preventive health inputs, yet there is little evidence on demand for self-tests. We used the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism-an incentive-compatible approach-to elicit exact willingness to pay (WTP) for HIV self-tests in a field experiment with 822 participants at 66 health clinics/pharmacies in Kenya. Our analysis reveals substantial demand at low prices and highly elastic demand at a wide range of prices above this range. We find few participants with nonpositive WTP. We examine correlates of WTP and discuss policy and research implications of our findings.

Keywords: Becker-Degroot-Marschak mechanism; HIV/AIDS; health; self-testing; willingness to pay.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Motivation*