{"id":31889,"date":"2017-02-15T11:59:36","date_gmt":"2017-02-15T16:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=31889"},"modified":"2017-02-15T14:08:45","modified_gmt":"2017-02-15T19:08:45","slug":"econonic-professors-research-challenges-widely-held-assumptions-malaria-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/econonic-professors-research-challenges-widely-held-assumptions-malaria-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic professor\u2019s research challenges widely-held assumptions about malaria prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts broadly agree that mosquito nets are one of the best tools in the fight against malaria, to which the World Health Organization attributes hundreds of millions of illnesses each year and about 429,000 deaths in 2015 \u2013 almost all of them in sub-Saharan Africa. According to conventional wisdom, the best way to maximize use of mosquito nets in impoverished, malaria-prone parts of the world is distributing them for free.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Professor Chris Gingrich. (EMU file photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At a recent university colloquium, economics professor Chris Gingrich<\/a> presented research suggesting a different paradigm for net distribution. Gingrich\u2019s study, conducted in Tanzania in 2016 during sabbatical leave, in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, examined consumer demand and willingness to pay for different kinds of mosquito nets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fear is when these nets are given away for free, people aren\u2019t going to use them because they have no emotional or financial investment,\u201d said Gingrich, during his colloquium presentation. In areas where free distribution has occurred, he added, it\u2019s common to find them being used as window screens, fishing nets and in other non-prescribed ways.<\/p>\n

Gingrich, who conducted related research<\/a> in Tanzania during a previous sabbatical leave, designed an experiment in which participants received 10,000 shillings (about $4) and were offered a series of chances to buy different kinds and sizes of nets priced between 2,000 and 8,000 shillings.<\/p>\n

After surveying 800 participants over a four-week period in two different regions of the country, Gingrich found they had a \u201cvery high propensity to buy\u201d mosquito nets, even though they were also allowed to buy nothing and keep all the money they\u2019d been given. Further analysis of the 5,600 data points generated during the study also shows that participants\u2019 choices aligned with the logical consumer behaviors predicted by Econ 101 demand curves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is empowering for the average Tanzanian,\u201d Gingrich said. \u201cWe know that they are treating these goods like a rational consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n