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Item Restricted Choice and usage of modern contraception: an expenditure analysis of Philippine households(2008-10-10) Alquiroz, Niña Feren P.; Sayoc, Melissa Romina T.Because households are faced with limited resources, the choice to use and the amount of expenditure allotted towards modern contraception is affected by other spending priorities-food, clothing, education, medicine, and more-it must balance for its well-being. Using data from the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, this study examines these trade-offs families must confront and the household characteristics that influence them as they decide whether or not to engage in modern family planning and the consistency with which they will follow such methods. Heckman two-step regression was used to estimate the parameters of a double-log function. Results from the first stage of regression show that the number of young dependents, residence in certain regions, and being married increase the likelihood for households to use modern contraceptives. On the expenditure side, the more a family can spend for items other than its most basic necessities, the greater its propensity to use as well. Meanwhile, the second stage of regression reveals similar findings for variables that describe the household, but this time, expenditure for basic necessities like food and rent diverts spending for modern contraception. These results show that families with limited income indeed treat the two levels of decision-making very differently. In light of these findings, improving contraceptive prevalence is now a matter of helping households with the tradeoffs they are faced. Pills and condoms may be provided cheap or for free, and subsidies for food, medicine and education may be given, among other things. Raising income levels, however, is not a straightforward matter, and the policy prescriptions for this can be very difficult. But once this is successfully done, the benefits will transcend reproductive health and improve general well-being.