Travis Lybbert, Stephen Vosti and Coauthors Report Impacts of Market Trial for Child Micronutrient Supplementation in Journal of Health Economics
Nov. 7, 2018
"Household demand persistence for child micronutrient supplementation," by Travis J. Lybbert, ARE professor, Stephen A. Vosti, ARE adjunct professor, Katherine P. Adams, ARE Ph.D. alumna and UC Davis Department of Nutrition assistant project scientist, and Rosemonde Guissou, health economist at the Institute de Recherche en Sciences de la Sante, was published in the November 2018 issue of the Journal of Health Economics.
Abstract
Addressing early-life micronutrient deficiencies can improve short- and long-term outcomes. In most contexts, private supply chains will be key to effective and efficient preventative supplementation. With established vendors, we conducted a 60-week market trial for a food-based micronutrient supplement in rural Burkina Faso with randomized price and non-price treatments. Repeat purchases – critical for effective supplementation – are extremely price sensitive. Loyalty cards boost demand more than price discounts, particularly in non-poor households where the father is the cardholder. A small minority of households achieved sufficient supplementation for their children through purely retail distribution, suggesting the need for more creative public-private delivery platforms informed by insights into household demand persistence and heterogeneity.
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