@article{oai:nagoya.repo.nii.ac.jp:00015010, author = {Nakamura, Sayaka}, issue = {E12-3}, journal = {Economic Research Center Discussion Paper}, month = {Oct}, note = {The Japanese government approved the use of oral contraception in 1999, but oral contraceptive (OC) users remain a small minority in Japan. Based on an online survey conducted in 2010, I examine the factors determining Japanese women’s choice of contraceptive methods by estimating multinomial choice models. The estimation results indicate that OC use is positively associated with age, willingness to pay (WTP) for contraceptive effectiveness, frequency of intercourse, and experience with abortion or emergency contraception. These findings suggest that OC use increases as women learn from experience and that the low and declining trend in the frequency of intercourse in Japan offers one explanation for the slow diffusion of OCs. Additionally, the prevalent OC use among women with a higher risk of unintended pregnancies suggests that OC approval may have significantly reduced the incidence of unintended pregnancies despite the low average prevalence of OC use. Subjective probabilities regarding each method’s effectiveness and disruption to mood, partner disapproval, side benefits and minor side effects are important determinants of contraceptive choice. Somewhat surprisingly, the correlations between subjective probabilities and women's demographic and socioeconomic characteristics are weak. Overall, the results imply that increased contraceptive knowledge among both men and women could significantly increase the use of OCs in Japan.}, title = {Determinants of Contraceptive Choice among Japanese Women : Ten Years after the Pill Approval}, year = {2012} }