Psychology, Gender, and the Intrahousehold Allocation of Free and Purchased Mosquito Nets

Vivian Hoffmann

No 55282, Working Papers from University of Maryland, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Abstract: This paper reports results from a field experiment in Uganda. The proportion of children five years and younger who slept under a mosquito net was 20 percent higher when nets were distributed for free compared to when an equivalent cash transfer could be used to purchase nets. This effect is attributable to the endowment effect (more nets were retained when received for free than offered for sale), and to differences in how purchased and free nets are allocated within the household. Nets received for free were more likely to be used by young children. Purchased nets, on the other hand, were used by those members of the household, often adults, perceived by participants to suffer from malaria most frequently. When a married woman acquired nets, the probability that her children used these increased with the educational attainment of her husband.

Keywords: Consumer/Household Economics; Health Economics and Policy; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; International Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40
Date: 2008-09
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/55282/files/08-15.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:umdrwp:55282

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.55282

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from University of Maryland, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().