IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaea14/170881.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Crowd-out Effect of Crop Insurance on Farm Survival and Profitability

Author

Listed:
  • Kirwan, Barrett E.

Abstract

The Federal Crop Insurance program has expanded dramatically over the past two decades---from $140 million in subsidies and 84 million acres covered to nearly $10 billion in subsidies and 260 million acres covered. The effect this has had on farmers' overall risk exposure and profitability is unclear. Self-selection and market dynamics have masked the direct effect of crop insurance. This paper uses numerous changes to the crop insurance program to isolate crop insurance's direct effect on risk exposure and, ultimately, profitability. I find that crop insurance increases debt holdings and acres cash rented and decreases the use of marketing contracts. Crop insurance has no effect on farm profitability. Taken together, crop insurance crowds out other risk-management strategies without improving farm profitability.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirwan, Barrett E., 2014. "The Crowd-out Effect of Crop Insurance on Farm Survival and Profitability," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170881, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea14:170881
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.170881
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/170881/files/AAEA2014.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.170881?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shawn Cole & Barrett Kirwan, 2009. "Between the Corporation and the Household: Commodity Prices, Risk Management, and Agricultural Production in the United States," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1243-1249.
    2. Joseph W. Glauber, 2013. "The Growth Of The Federal Crop Insurance Program, 1990--2011," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(2), pages 482-488.
    3. Hart, Chad E & Lence, Sergio H, 2004. "Financial Constraints and Farm Investment: A Bayesian Examination," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 22(1), pages 51-63, January.
    4. Schnitkey, Gary, 2011. "Crop Insurance in 2011," farmdoc daily, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, vol. 1, March.
    5. Irwin, Scott H. & Good, Darrel L., 2010. "Alternative 2010 Corn Production Scenarios and Policy Implications," Marketing and Outlook Briefs 183524, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics.
    6. Collins, Keith J. & Bulut, Harun, 2011. "Crop Insurance And The Future Farm Safety Net," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 26(4), pages 1-7.
    7. Woodard, Joshua D. & Sherrick, Bruce J. & Schnitkey, Gary D., 2011. "Actuarial Impacts of Loss Cost Ratio Ratemaking in U.S. Crop Insurance Programs," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 36(1), pages 1-18, April.
    8. Peter J. Barry, 1998. "Credit Constraints, Farm Characteristics, and the Farm Economy: Differential Impacts on Feeder Cattle and Beef Cow Inventories," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 80(4), pages 708-723.
    9. Barry K. Goodwin & Vincent H. Smith, 2013. "What Harm Is Done By Subsidizing Crop Insurance?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(2), pages 489-497.
    10. Ralph Bierlen & Allen M. Featherstone, 1998. "Fundamental q, Cash Flow, and Investment: Evidence from Farm Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(3), pages 427-435, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Madhu Khanna & Ruiqing Miao, 2022. "Inducing the adoption of emerging technologies for sustainable intensification of food and renewable energy production: insights from applied economics," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(1), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Donatella Porrini & Giulio Fusco & Pier Paolo Miglietta, 2019. "Post-Adversities Recovery and Profitability: The Case of Italian Farmers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Ruiqing Miao & Madhu Khanna, 2017. "Effectiveness of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program: Roles of Behavioral Factors, Credit Constraint, and Program Design," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 39(4), pages 584-608.
    4. Mohit Anand & Ruiqing Miao & Madhu Khanna, 2019. "Adopting bioenergy crops: Does farmers’ attitude toward loss matter?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(4), pages 435-450, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paloch Suchato & Taro Mieno & Karina Schoengold & Timothy Foster, 2022. "The potential for moral hazard behavior in irrigation decisions under crop insurance," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(2), pages 257-273, March.
    2. Chul‐Woo Kwon & Peter F. Orazem & Daniel M. Otto, 2006. "Off‐farm labor supply responses to permanent and transitory farm income," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 34(1), pages 59-67, January.
    3. Francis Tsiboe & Jesse Tack, 2022. "Utilizing Topographic and Soil Features to Improve Rating for Farm‐Level Insurance Products," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(1), pages 52-69, January.
    4. Chaddad, Fabio Ribas, 2006. "Investment Constraints in Agricultural Cooperatives: Theory, Evidence and Solutions," 44th Congress, July 23-27, 2006, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil 143259, Sociedade Brasileira de Economia, Administracao e Sociologia Rural (SOBER).
    5. Xiaodong Du & Hongli Feng & David A. Hennessy, 2017. "Rationality of Choices in Subsidized Crop Insurance Markets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(3), pages 732-756.
    6. Jim Teal & Andrew W. Stevens, 2024. "Race and premium misrating in the U.S. Federal Crop Insurance Program," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(1), pages 169-188, March.
    7. Delbridge, Timothy A. & King, Robert P., 2016. "How Important is the T-Yield? An Analysis of Reforms to Organic Crop Insurance," Staff Papers 244732, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    8. Chengguo Weng & Lysa Porth & Ken Seng Tan & Ryan Samaratunga, 2017. "Modelling the Sustainability of the Canadian Crop Insurance Program: A Reserve Fund Process Under a Public–Private Partnership Model," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 42(2), pages 226-246, April.
    9. Ahrendsen, Bruce L. & Bierlen, Ralph W. & Langemeier, Larry N. & Dixon, Bruce L., 1999. "Land Leasing And Debt On Farms: Substitutes Or Complements?," 1999 Annual meeting, August 8-11, Nashville, TN 21671, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    10. Fabio G Santeramo, 2019. "I Learn, You Learn, We Gain Experience in Crop Insurance Markets," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(2), pages 284-304, June.
    11. Xiaodong Du & Hongli Feng & David A. Hennessy, 2017. "Rationality of Choices in Subsidized Crop Insurance Markets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(3), pages 732-756.
    12. Woodard, Joshua D. & Chiu Verteramo, Leslie & Miller, Alyssa P., 2015. "Adaptation of U.S. Agricultural Production to Drought and Climate Change," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205903, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Sabasi, Darlington & Kompaniyets, Lyudmyla, 2015. "Impact of credit constraints on profitability and productivity in U.S. agriculture," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205689, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Ramirez, Octavio A. & Shonkwiler, J. Scott, 2017. "A Probabilistic Model of Crop Insurance Purchase Decision," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 42(1), pages 1-17, January.
    15. Bulut, Harun, 2017. "Managing Catastrophic Risk in Agriculture through Ex Ante Subsidized Insurance or Ex Post Disaster Aid," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 42(3), September.
    16. Luckstead, Jeff & Devadoss, Stephen, 2016. "Implication of 2014 Farm Policies for Wheat Production," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235362, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Jason Loughrey & Fiona Thorne & Thia Hennessy, 2016. "A Microsimulation Model for Risk in Irish Tillage Farming," International Journal of Microsimulation, International Microsimulation Association, vol. 9(2), pages 41-76.
    18. Shen, Zhiwei, 2016. "Adaptive local parametric estimation of crop yields: implication for crop insurance ratemaking," 156th Seminar, October 4, 2016, Wageningen, The Netherlands 249984, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Bulut, Harun & Collins, Keith J., 2013. "Political Economy of Crop Insurance Risk Subsidies under Imperfect Information," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150577, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Kandilov, Amy M.G. & Kandilov, Ivan T., 2013. "The Impact of Interstate Bank Branching Deregulations on the U.S. Agricultural Sector: From Better Access to Credit to Higher Farm Sales and Profits," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149820, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Agricultural Finance; Risk and Uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aaea14:170881. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.