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Is Zero a Special Price? Evidence from Child Health Care

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  • Toshiaki Iizuka
  • Hitoshi Shigeoka

Abstract

Do consumers react differently to zero prices? We test the presence of a zero-price effect in child health care and find that a zero price is special as it boosts demand discontinuously. A zero price affects resource allocations by encouraging healthier children to use more services and exacerbates behavioral hazard by increasing inappropriate use of antibiotics. A co-payment, of as small as US$2 per visit, alleviates these problems without substantially increasing financial risk. However, a zero price may be used to boost demand for highly cost-effective treatments. Zero and non-zero prices should be strategically chosen to achieve specific goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Toshiaki Iizuka & Hitoshi Shigeoka, 2022. "Is Zero a Special Price? Evidence from Child Health Care," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 381-410, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:381-410
    DOI: 10.1257/app.20210184
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Shigeoka, Hitoshi & Watanabe, Yasutora, 2023. "Policy Diffusion through Elections," IZA Discussion Papers 16275, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Hongmei Cao & Xinpeng Xu & Hua You & Jinghong Gu & Hongyan Hu & Shan Jiang, 2022. "Healthcare Expenditures among the Elderly in China: The Role of Catastrophic Medical Insurance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Toshiaki Iizuka & Hitoshi Shigeoka, 2020. "Asymmetric Demand Response when Prices Increase and Decrease: The Case of Child Healthcare," NBER Working Papers 28057, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Sano, Kazuaki & Miyawaki, Atsushi & Abe, Kazuhiro & Jin, Xueying & Watanabe, Taeko & Tamiya, Nanako & Kobayashi, Yasuki, 2022. "Effects of cost sharing on long-term care service utilization among home-dwelling older adults in Japan," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(12), pages 1310-1316.
    5. Norihiro Komura & Shun-ichiro Bessho, 2022. "The Longer-term Impact of Coinsurance for the Elderly - Evidence from High-access Case -," KIER Working Papers 1074, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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