A cost-benefit analysis of a condom social marketing programme in Tanzania

This article uses the revealed preference, willingness-to-pay approach to estimate the benefits in a cost-benefit analysis of a condom social marketing (CSM) programme in Tanzania. The demand curve used to derive the consumer surplus had unit elasticity and it was estimated from a cross-sectional sample of 1272 persons. People were willing to pay different prices for the condoms because perceived quality varied. Net benefits were close to zero for the minimum estimate that ignored external benefits. With external benefits included, the CSM programme was judged socially worthwhile with our best estimate producing a benefit-cost ratio ranging from 1.31 to 1.72.