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The value of COVID-19 tests in Latin America

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  • Trudeau, Jennifer M.
  • Alicea-Planas, Jessica
  • Vásquez, William F.

Abstract

Testing is a crucial strategy to control the spread of a pandemic. Voluntary participation in this strategy will depend on individual preferences towards and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for test results. We distributed a web-based, contingent valuation survey to social-media users in 16 Latin American countries to evaluate regional attitudes towards the emerging COVID-19 outbreak and WTP for COVID-19 testing. We observe that the cost of the test and household income are important determinants of testing intentions. We find higher WTP among those reporting greater concern relative to the average respondent. Accounting for uncertainty, our results indicate a WTP of approximately $45 dollars or 4.2 % of monthly income among respondents. These results, paired with our predicted participation rate of between 84–94 % for a $1 test, suggest that local officials will be able to effectively recruit participation in this mitigation strategy given the appropriate subsidization structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Trudeau, Jennifer M. & Alicea-Planas, Jessica & Vásquez, William F., 2020. "The value of COVID-19 tests in Latin America," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:39:y:2020:i:c:s1570677x2030201x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100931
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    RePEc Biblio mentions

    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Economics of Welfare > Health Economics > Economics of Pandemics > Specific pandemics > Covid-19 > Health > Testing

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    Cited by:

    1. Dorn, Florian & Lange, Berit & Braml, Martin & Gstrein, David & Nyirenda, John L.Z. & Vanella, Patrizio & Winter, Joachim & Fuest, Clemens & Krause, Gérard, 2023. "The challenge of estimating the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 interventions – Toward an integrated economic and epidemiological approach," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    2. Akay, Alpaslan, 2022. "The local and global mental health effects of the Covid-19 pandemic," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    3. Dragomirescu-Gaina, Catalin, 2021. "Facing an unfortunate trade-off: policy responses, lessons and spill-overs during the COVID-19 pandemic," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Test; COVID-19; Uptake rate; Willingness to pay; Contingent valuation; Latin America;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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