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Insurance and risk practices: an exploration of religious texts to reveal the evolutionary development of insurance institutions

Author

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  • Ashu Tiwari

    (Indian Institute of Management Rohtak)

  • Imlak Shaikh

    (Management Development Institute Gurgaon)

  • Archana Patro

    (Indian Institute of Management Rohtak)

Abstract

Archeological evidence shows that many ancient civilizations were engaged in practices resembling insurance to protect individuals from adverse economic loss. The present study argues that such protection mechanisms are indeed very old and have their roots in various religions, but rather than an economic orientation, they were governed by religious faith for collective survival. The concepts of protection, pooling, and temporal diversification of resources are discussed intensively in all religions. By exploring various religious texts, the present study identified four quasi-insurance arrangements, namely religious insurance, political insurance, mutual insurance, and institutional insurance. However, these protection arrangements vary in the degree to which they represent “strict adherence to faith” versus “laws of collective survival.” The argument of the present work is supported using the theory of religious evolution developed by Bellah in 1964.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashu Tiwari & Imlak Shaikh & Archana Patro, 2018. "Insurance and risk practices: an exploration of religious texts to reveal the evolutionary development of insurance institutions," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 20(2), pages 274-292, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jsecdv:v:20:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s40847-018-0070-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s40847-018-0070-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Scheve, Kenneth & Stasavage, David, 2006. "Religion and Preferences for Social Insurance," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 1(3), pages 255-286, July.
    2. Andrew E. Clark & Orsolya Lelkes, 2005. "Deliver us from evil: religion as insurance," PSE Working Papers halshs-00590570, HAL.
    3. Evelyn L. Lehrer, 2004. "Religion as a Determinant of Economic and Demographic Behavior in the United States," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 30(4), pages 707-726, December.
    4. Anderson, Gary M, 1988. "Mr. Smith and the Preachers: The Economics of Religion in the Wealth of Nations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(5), pages 1066-1088, October.
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