The Combined Role of Subsidy and Discussion Intervention in the Demand for a Stigmatized Product
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Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank
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This paper studies the joint role of
subsidization and group discussion intervention in
increasing the demand for sanitary pads, a product that is
widely available but demand for which may be curtailed due
to the psychological cost associated with menstrual
stigmatization. The study deploys a field experiment in
Nepal to randomly allocate discount coupons of various
values so that participants face exogenous variation in the
effective price of sanitary pads. In addition, a randomly
selected group of women in the sample participate in
menstrual health-related group discussion intervention. The
findings suggest that an increase in subsidy level increases
the probability of adoption across both groups of women,
those receiving only a subsidy and those participating in
the discussion intervention coupled with a subsidy. Also,
women participating in the discussion intervention have a
higher adoption rate. The effects of group discussion
intervention are concentrated among women with high
psychological cost, whose purchase decisions are more likely
to be affected by societal stigma. The results suggest that
combining a subsidy with group discussion could provide a
cost-effective strategy to increase the adoption of health
technology, the demand for which is constrained by social norms.
Palabras clave
PRICE SUBSIDIES, SOCIETAL STIGMA, GROUP DISCUSSION INTERVENTION, ESTIMATING ELASTICITY, MENSTRUAL HEALTH