The Effect of Economic Factors on Contraceptive Choice in Jamaica and Thailand: A Comparison of Mixed Multinational Logit Results

A mixed conditional-unconditional multinomial logit econometric model is used to estimate contraceptive method choice to determine how prices and other socioeconomic factors, as well as the interaction of these variables, affect the specific choice of contraceptive method. Data were obtained from surveys conducted in Jamaica and Thailand of approximately 1,000 women in each country between the ages of 15 and 45 who were married or having regular sexual relations with someone and who were not pregnant. In both countries, factors other than prices tend to dominate in determining whether a woman or her partner will purchase contraceptives, given free availability. Money prices and time costs are negatively related to the choice of contraceptive method, but for several of the priced contraceptives, the effects of money prices are small in magnitude. The use of the pill in Jamaica and of injections, the pill, an interuterine device (IUD), and sterilization in Thailand are relatively insensitive to price changes.