Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/170903 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10919
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We study the impact of expert reviews on the demand for HIV treatments. A novel feature of our study is that we observe two reviews for each HIV drug and focus attention on consumer responses when experts disagree. Reviews are provided by both a doctor and an activist in the HIV lifestyle magazine Positively Aware, which we merge with detailed panel data on HIV-positive men's treatment consumption and health outcomes. To establish a causal relationship between reviews and demand, we exploit the arrival of new drugs over time, which provides arguably random variation in reviews of existing drugs. We find that when doctors and activists agree, more positive reviews increase demand for HIV drugs. However, doctors and activists frequently disagree, most often over treatments that are effective, but have harsh side effects, in which case they are given low ratings by the activist, but not by the doctor. In such cases, relatively healthy consumers favor drugs with higher activist reviews, thus defying the doctor, which is consistent with a distaste for side effects. This pattern reverses for individuals who are in worse health and thus face stronger incentives to choose more effective medication despite side effects. Findings suggest that consumers demand information from experts according to the trade-offs they face when making health investments in the presence of adverse treatment side effects.
Subjects: 
health
information
product reviews
pharmaceutical demand
HIV/AIDS
JEL: 
I12
L15
M3
D12
D83
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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