Questioning a Popular Approach to Lasting Development(2/2)

Rachel Glennerster runs the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The research lab does development and poverty studies. Its goal is to improve the effectiveness of anti-poverty programs in the United States and other countries.

Miz Glennerster tells us that several studies by the research group's economists have proven that small price changes have a big influence on the number of people who use a product. A price change will reduce the total amount of use of the product as well, she says. The economists have also found no evidence that the very act of paying for something changes how people use it.

Finally, some development experts argue that pricing is useful when targeting a product among special populations. When it comes to bed nets, Miz Glennerster says research shows no evidence of this. People are just as likely to use a bed net if they paid for it or not.

参考译文：

瑞秋·格兰内斯特负责设立在麻省理工内的 Abdul Latif Jameel 贫困行动实验室。研究室进行一些关于发展与贫穷的研究。其目标是提高美国及其他国家反贫困项目的效果。

格兰内斯特女士告诉我们研究小组的经济学家所做的几项研究已经证明微小的价格变化都对使用产品的人数有大的影响。她说价格变化也会减少产品使用的总量。但经济学家们没有找到事实证明人们买东西的行为会改变人们使用的方式。

最后，有些发展专家提出定价对于定位特殊人群的产品是有用的。但涉及到使用蚊帐的问题，格兰内斯特女士说研究无法证明这点。（因为）人们不管买不买蚊帐都是可能用到的。

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