Information and subsidies: Complements or substitutes?

Nava Ashraf, B. Kelsey Jack and Emir Kamenica

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2013, vol. 88, issue C, 133-139

Abstract: Does providing information about a product influence the impact of price subsidies on purchases? This question is particularly relevant for health products in developing countries where both informational campaigns and price subsidies are common policy instruments. We conduct a field experiment in Zambia and find that providing information about a new version of a product significantly increases the impact of price subsidies on take-up. Taken alone, the information manipulation has no significant impact on demand while the price subsidy substantially increases demand. However, the evaluation of either intervention in isolation fails to capture the significant complementarity between the two.

Keywords: Subsidies; Information; Health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 H23 I18 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (49)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:88:y:2013:i:c:p:133-139

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2012.12.031

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