IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v163y2023ics0304387823000111.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of self- or social-regarding health messages: Experimental evidence based on antibiotics purchases

Author

Listed:
  • He, Daixin
  • Lu, Fangwen
  • Yang, Jianan

Abstract

We study two interventions in Beijing, China, that provide patients with information on antibiotic resistance via text message to discourage the overuse of antibiotics. The messages were sent once a month for five months. One intervention emphasizes the threat to the recipient's own health and is found to have negligible effects. The other intervention, which highlights the overall threat to society, reduces antibiotics purchases by 17% in dosage without discouraging healthcare visits and other medicine purchases. The results demonstrate that prosocial messaging can have the potential to address public health issues that require collective action.

Suggested Citation

  • He, Daixin & Lu, Fangwen & Yang, Jianan, 2023. "Impact of self- or social-regarding health messages: Experimental evidence based on antibiotics purchases," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:163:y:2023:i:c:s0304387823000111
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103056
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387823000111
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103056?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zachary Wagner & Somalee Banerjee & Manoj Mohanan & Neeraj Sood, 2023. "Does the market reward quality? Evidence from India," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 467-505, September.
    2. Xiaomin Wang & Leesa Lin & Ziming Xuan & Lu Li & Xudong Zhou, 2018. "Keeping Antibiotics at Home Promotes Self-Medication with Antibiotics among Chinese University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Daniel Bennett & Che-Lun Hung & Tsai-Ling Lauderdale, 2015. "Health Care Competition and Antibiotic Use in Taiwan," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 371-393, June.
    4. Sara Lowes & Eduardo Montero, 2021. "The Legacy of Colonial Medicine in Central Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(4), pages 1284-1314, April.
    5. Vincenzo Galasso & Vincent Pons & Paola Profeta & Michael Becher & Sylvain Brouard & Martial Foucault, 2022. "From Anti-Vax Intentions to Vaccination: Panel and Experimental Evidence from Nine Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series 9564, CESifo.
    6. Stefano DellaVigna & Elizabeth Linos, 2022. "RCTs to Scale: Comprehensive Evidence From Two Nudge Units," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(1), pages 81-116, January.
    7. Jessica Cohen & Pascaline Dupas & Simone Schaner, 2015. "Price Subsidies, Diagnostic Tests, and Targeting of Malaria Treatment: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(2), pages 609-645, February.
    8. Hallsworth, Michael & List, John A. & Metcalfe, Robert D. & Vlaev, Ivo, 2017. "The behavioralist as tax collector: Using natural field experiments to enhance tax compliance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 14-31.
    9. Susan Athey & Kristen Grabarz & Michael Luca & Nils Wernerfelt, 2022. "The Effectiveness of Digital Interventions on COVID-19 Attitudes and Beliefs," Papers 2206.10214, arXiv.org.
    10. Lu, Fangwen, 2014. "Insurance coverage and agency problems in doctor prescriptions: Evidence from a field experiment in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 156-167.
    11. Carolina Lopez & Anja Sautmann & Simone Schaner, 2022. "Does Patient Demand Contribute to the Overuse of Prescription Drugs?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 225-260, January.
    12. Paul J. Ferraro & Michael K. Price, 2013. "Using Nonpecuniary Strategies to Influence Behavior: Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(1), pages 64-73, March.
    13. Jishnu Das & Alaka Holla & Aakash Mohpal & Karthik Muralidharan, 2016. "Quality and Accountability in Health Care Delivery: Audit-Study Evidence from Primary Care in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(12), pages 3765-3799, December.
    14. Koichiro Ito & Takanori Ida & Makoto Tanaka, 2018. "Moral Suasion and Economic Incentives: Field Experimental Evidence from Energy Demand," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 240-267, February.
    15. Currie, Janet & Lin, Wanchuan & Meng, Juanjuan, 2014. "Addressing antibiotic abuse in China: An experimental audit study," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 39-51.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elif Kubilay & Eva Raiber & Lisa Spantig & Jana Cahlíková & Lucy Kaaria, 2023. "Financial fraud in developing countries: Common scam detection tips do not help distinguish scam from non-scam messages," ECONtribute Policy Brief Series 056, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    2. repec:ags:aaea22:335494 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Kubilay, Elif & Raiber, Eva & Spantig, Lisa & Cahlíková, Jana & Kaaria, Lucy, 2023. "Can you spot a scam? Measuring and improving scam identification ability," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria Vittoria Levati & Ivan Soraperra & Saba Yifredew, 2023. "How to Curb Over-The-Counter Sales of Antibiotics? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Ethiopia," Working Papers 10/2023, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    2. Michael Allan Ribers & Hannes Ullrich, 2019. "Battling Antibiotic Resistance: Can Machine Learning Improve Prescribing?," Papers 1906.03044, arXiv.org.
    3. John A. List & James J. Murphy & Michael K. Price & Alexander G. James, 2019. "Do Appeals to Donor Benefits Raise More Money than Appeals to Recipient Benefits? Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment with Pick.Click.Give," NBER Working Papers 26559, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Michael Allan Ribers & Hannes Ullrich, 2020. "Machine Predictions and Human Decisions with Variation in Payoffs and Skill," CESifo Working Paper Series 8702, CESifo.
    5. Lagarde, Mylène & Blaauw, Duane, 2022. "Overtreatment and benevolent provider moral hazard: Evidence from South African doctors," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    6. Riehm, Tobias & Fugger, Nicolas & Gillen, Philippe & Gretschko, Vitali & Werner, Peter, 2022. "Social norms, sanctions, and conditional entry in markets with externalities: Evidence from an artefactual field experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    7. Michael Allan Ribers & Hannes Ullrich, 2023. "Machine learning and physician prescribing: a path to reduced antibiotic use," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0019, Berlin School of Economics.
    8. Lagarde, Mylène & Blaauw, Duane, 2022. "Overtreatment and benevolent provider moral hazard: evidence from South African doctors," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115383, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Hannes Ullrich & Michael Allan Ribers, 2023. "Machine predictions and human decisions with variation in payoffs and skill: the case of antibiotic prescribing," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0027, Berlin School of Economics.
    10. Carolina Lopez & Anja Sautmann & Simone Schaner, 2018. "The Contribution of Patients and Providers to the Overuse of Prescription Drugs," NBER Working Papers 25284, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Rubli, Adrian, 2023. "Trade-offs between access and quality in healthcare: Evidence from retail clinics in Mexico," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    12. Brown, Joe & Hamoudi, Amar & Jeuland, Marc & Turrini, Gina, 2017. "Seeing, believing, and behaving: Heterogeneous effects of an information intervention on household water treatment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 141-159.
    13. Florian Diekert & Tillmann Eymess & Joseph Luomba & Israel Waichman, 2022. "The Creation of Social Norms under Weak Institutions," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(6), pages 1127-1160.
    14. Brülisauer, Marcel & Goette, Lorenz & Jiang, Zhengyi & Schmitz, Jan & Schubert, Renate, 2020. "Appliance-specific feedback and social comparisons: Evidence from a field experiment on energy conservation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    15. Mengna Luan & Wenjing Shi & Zhigang Tao & Hongjie Yuan, 2023. "When patients have better insurance coverage in China: Provider incentives, costs, and quality of care," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 1073-1106, October.
    16. Francisco Costa & François Gerard, 2021. "Hysteresis and the Welfare Effect of Corrective Policies: Theory and Evidence from an Energy-Saving Program," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(6), pages 1705-1743.
    17. Omar Al-Ubaydli & Faith Fatchen & John List, 2024. "Using Field Experiments to Understand the Impact of Institutions on Economic Growth," Natural Field Experiments 00787, The Field Experiments Website.
    18. Sebastian Panthöfer, 2022. "Do doctors prescribe antibiotics out of fear of malpractice?," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(2), pages 340-381, June.
    19. Farasat A.S. Bokhari & Franco Mariuzzo & Weijie Yan, 2019. "Antibacterial resistance and the cost of affecting demand: the case of UK antibiotics," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2019-03, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    20. Wen, Hong-xing & Wang, Chan & Nie, Pu-yan, 2021. "Acceleration of rural households’ conversion to cleaner cooking fuels: The importance and mechanisms of peer effects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social-regarding message; Antibiotics; Field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:163:y:2023:i:c:s0304387823000111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.