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Insurance demand and country risks: A nonlinear panel data analysis

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  • Lee, Chien-Chiang
  • Chiu, Yi-Bin
  • Chang, Chi-Hung

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of country risks, including political, financial, and economic risks, on the income elasticity of insurance demand. Using the panel smooth transition regression model, we find that there is a significant regime-switching effect concerning the impact of country risks on the income elasticity of insurance demand. A full-sample analysis shows that the income elasticity of insurance demand decreases when country risks diminish. In a subsample analysis based on income level, legal origin, and restriction on banks' participation in insurance activities, we find that the elasticity diminishes in general when economic risk drops. When political risk is lower, the elasticity decreases in countries with high-income, common law origin, and insurance activities permitted by banks, whereas a clear pattern cannot be identified in the case of financial risk.

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  • Lee, Chien-Chiang & Chiu, Yi-Bin & Chang, Chi-Hung, 2013. "Insurance demand and country risks: A nonlinear panel data analysis," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 68-85.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jimfin:v:36:y:2013:i:c:p:68-85
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jimonfin.2013.03.009
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    Cited by:

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    2. Chi-Chuan Lee & Chien-Chiang Lee, 2018. "The Impact of Country Risk on Income Inequality: A Multilevel Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 139-162, February.
    3. Christian Biener & Martin Eling & Shailee Pradhan, 2015. "Recent Research Developments Affecting Nonlife Insurance—The CAS Risk Premium Project 2013 Update," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 18(1), pages 129-141, March.
    4. Rangan Gupta & Amine Lahiani & Chi-Chuan Lee & Chien-Chiang Lee, 2019. "Asymmetric dynamics of insurance premium: the impacts of output and economic policy uncertainty," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 1959-1978, December.
    5. Simona Laura Dragoş & Codruţa Mare & Cristian Mihai Dragoş, 2019. "Institutional drivers of life insurance consumption: a dynamic panel approach for European countries," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 44(1), pages 36-66, January.
    6. Chiu, Yi-Bin & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2019. "Financial development, income inequality, and country risk," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 1-18.
    7. Ben Lahouel, Béchir & Bruna, Maria-Giuseppina & Ben Zaied, Younes, 2020. "The curvilinear relationship between environmental performance and financial performance: An investigation of listed french firms using panel smooth transition model," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    8. Godwin Olasehinde-Williams & Mehmet Balcilar, 2018. "The Long-run Effect of Geopolitical Risks on Insurance Premiums," Working Papers 15-44, Eastern Mediterranean University, Department of Economics.
    9. Zhang, Wenwen & Chiu, Yi-Bin, 2020. "Do country risks influence carbon dioxide emissions? A non-linear perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    10. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2020. "Insurance activity, real output, and geopolitical risk: Fresh evidence from BRICS," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 207-215.
    11. Koukouritakis, Minoas, 2022. "Environmental Performance and GDP Growth: A Non-linear Approach for the G20 Countries," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 75(1), pages 101-130.
    12. Nguyen Phuc Canh & Udomsak Wongchoti & Su Dinh Thanh, 2021. "Does economic policy uncertainty matter for insurance development? Evidence from 16 OECD countries," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 46(4), pages 614-648, October.
    13. Chen, Pei-Fen & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Chiu, Yi-Bin, 2014. "The nexus between defense expenditure and economic growth: New global evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 474-483.
    14. Lee, Hui Shan & Cheng, Fan Fah & Chong, Shyue Chuan & Sia, Bik Kai, 2018. "Influence of Macroeconomics Factors and Legal Stability to the Insurance Growth in the ASEAN-5 Countries," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 52(2), pages 219-229.
    15. Pei-Fen Chen & Jhih-Hong Zeng & Chien-Chiang Lee, 2015. "Monetary Policy and the Diversification–Profitability Linkage in Banking: Evidences from Emerging Market Economies," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 83(4), pages 576-597, December.
    16. Tsangyao Chang & Chien-Chiang Lee & Hsiao-Ping Chu, 2015. "Revisiting the Defense-Growth nexus in European countries," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 341-356, June.
    17. Hui Shan Lee & Shyue Chuan Chong & Shen Yap & Bik Kai Sia & Ying Xi Chen, 2021. "Does Economic Freedom in Host Countries Lead to Increased Non-Life Insurance Development?," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, October.
    18. Mamadou Bah & Nelson Abila, 2024. "Institutional determinants of insurance penetration in Africa," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 49(1), pages 138-179, January.
    19. Ingrid-Mihaela Dragotă & Cosmin Octavian Cepoi & Lavinia Ştefan, 2023. "Threshold effect for the life insurance industry: evidence from OECD countries," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 48(4), pages 799-820, October.
    20. Carmine Gabriele & Aitor Erce & Marialena Athanasopoulou & Juan Rojas, 2017. "Debt Stocks Meet Gross Financing Needs: A Flow Perspective into Sustainability," Working Papers 24, European Stability Mechanism.
    21. Béchir Ben Lahouel & Younes Ben Zaied & Guo-liang Yang & Maria-Giuseppina Bruna & Yaoyao Song, 2022. "A non-parametric decomposition of the environmental performance-income relationship: evidence from a non-linear model," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 313(1), pages 525-558, June.
    22. Maheswaran Srinivasan & Subrata Mitra, 2024. "Determinants of Life Insurance Consumption in OECD Countries Using FMOLS and DOLS Techniques," Risks, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
    23. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Chang, Chi-Hung & Arouri, Mohamed & Lee, Chi-Chuan, 2016. "Economic growth and insurance development: The role of institutional environments," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 361-369.
    24. Balcilar, Mehmet & Gupta, Rangan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Olasehinde-Williams, Godwin, 2020. "Insurance and economic policy uncertainty," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Insurance demand; Panel smooth transition regression; Political risk; Financial risk; Economic risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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