title: The need for quasi-experimental methodology to evaluate pricing effects.
abstract: Family planning program managers may be easily misled by conclusions about the effects of price increases on the demand for services when the findings are based on pre-experiments such as the single-group pretest-posttest study, generally believed to be practical. This report presents financial and service data from clinics of the Asociación Pro-Bienestar de la Familia Ecuatoriana (APROFE) in Ecuador, which, analyzed according to the single-group pretest-posttest design, would suggest that the demand for intrauterine device services is inelastic. However, considerable demand elasticity is detected when data are analyzed according to more rigorous quasi-experimental designs. Using the single-group pretest-posttest design for pricing studies is too flawed to be considered practical. Wherever possible, strong designs should be used in operations research, especially in pricing studies.
authors.affiliation: Population Council, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: León
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuesta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003267:Contraception / Q000191:economics*; D003906:Developing Countries; D004484:Ecuador; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012107:Research Design