It is often argued that engaging in indoor residual spraying
in areas with high coverage of mosquito bed nets may discourage
net ownership and use. This is just a case of a public
program having perverse incentives. This paper analyzes new
data from a randomized control trial conducted in Eritrea,
which surprisingly shows the opposite: indoor residual
spraying encouraged net acquisition and use. The evidence
points to the role of imperfect information. The introduction
of indoor residual spraying may have made the problem of
malaria more salient, leading to a change in beliefs about its
importance and to an increase in private health investments.
health investments.