IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/fpr/ifprid/1202.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The value of customized insurance for farmers in rural Bangladesh:

Author

Listed:
  • Clarke, Danielle
  • Das, Narayan C.
  • de Nicola, Francesca
  • Hill, Ruth Vargas
  • Kumar, Neha
  • Mehta, Parendi

Abstract

Farmers in rural Bangladesh face multiple sources of uninsured risk to agricultural production and household assets. In this paper, we present results from an experimental demand-elicitation exercise in rural Bangladesh to shed light on smallholder farmers’ interest in formal insurance products. We propose a suite of insurance and savings products, and we randomly vary the price of one insurance option (area-yield insurance) and the presence of one of the savings options (group savings). Consistent with economic theory, farmers buy more of the insurance products that cover the risks they primarily face. However, because farmers are subject to a variety of risks, they do not focus on only one type of insurance; instead, they evenly split their endowment between life and disability insurance and agricultural insurance. Demand for area-yield insurance falls with price; we also observe important cross-price elasticities with other insurance products. The presence of group savings does not alter demand for insurance, though group savings is found to be a particularly popular risk management tool, especially when decisions are made in groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Clarke, Danielle & Das, Narayan C. & de Nicola, Francesca & Hill, Ruth Vargas & Kumar, Neha & Mehta, Parendi, 2012. "The value of customized insurance for farmers in rural Bangladesh:," IFPRI discussion papers 1202, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1202
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp01202.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dionne, Georges & Eeckhoudt, Louis, 1984. "Insurance and saving: some further results," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 101-110, April.
    2. Dercon, Stefan & Christiaensen, Luc, 2011. "Consumption risk, technology adoption and poverty traps: Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 159-173, November.
    3. Christian Gollier, 2003. "To Insure or Not to Insure?: An Insurance Puzzle," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 28(1), pages 5-24, June.
    4. Ruth Vargas Hill & John Hoddinott & Neha Kumar, 2013. "Adoption of weather-index insurance: learning from willingness to pay among a panel of households in rural Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(4-5), pages 385-398, July.
    5. Peter Davis, 2007. "Discussions Among the Poor: Exploring Poverty Dynamics With Focus Groups in Bangladesh," Working Papers id:1106, eSocialSciences.
    6. Park, Cheolsung, 2006. "Risk Pooling between Households and Risk-Coping Measures in Developing Countries: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(2), pages 423-457, January.
    7. del Ninno, Carlo & Dorosh, Paul A. & Smith, Lisa C. & Roy, Dilip K., 2001. "The 1998 floods in Bangladesh: disaster impacts, household coping strategies, and responses," Research reports 122, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Ruth Vargas Hill, 2009. "Using Stated Preferences and Beliefs to Identify the Impact of Risk on Poor Households," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 151-171.
    9. Eeckhoudt, Louis & Gollier, Christian & Schlesinger, Harris, 1996. "Changes in Background Risk and Risk-Taking Behavior," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(3), pages 683-689, May.
    10. Shawn Cole & Xavier Giné & James Vickery, 2017. "How Does Risk Management Influence Production Decisions? Evidence from a Field Experiment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(6), pages 1935-1970.
    11. Santos, Indhira & Sharif, Iffath & Rahman, Hossain Zillur & Zaman, Hassan, 2011. "How do the poor cope with shocks in Bangladesh ? evidence from survey data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5810, The World Bank.
    12. Mobarak, A. Mushfiq & Rosenzweig, Mark R., 2012. "Selling formal Insurance to the Informally Insured," Center Discussion Papers 121671, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    13. Daniel J. Clarke, 2016. "A Theory of Rational Demand for Index Insurance," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 283-306, February.
    14. Megan Beckett & Julie Da Vanzo & Narayan Sastry & Constantijn Panis & Christine Peterson, 2001. "The Quality of Retrospective Data: An Examination of Long-Term Recall in a Developing Country," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(3), pages 593-625.
    15. Francesca de Nicola, 2011. "The Impact of Weather Insurance on Consumption, Investment, and Welfare," 2011 Meeting Papers 548, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    16. Clarke,Daniel Jonathan & Mahul,Olivier & Verma,Niraj, 2012. "Improving farmers'access to agricultural insurance in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5987, The World Bank.
    17. Gollier, Christian & Pratt, John W, 1996. "Risk Vulnerability and the Tempering Effect of Background Risk," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(5), pages 1109-1123, September.
    18. Clarke,Daniel Jonathan & Mahul,Olivier & Rao,Kolli Nageswara & Verma,Niraj, 2012. "Weather based crop insurance in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5985, The World Bank.
    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. Awel Y. & Azomahou T.T., 2015. "Risk preference or financial literacy? Behavioural experiment on index insurance demand," MERIT Working Papers 2015-005, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    2. Clarke, Daniel J. & Kumar, Neha, 2015. "Microinsurance decisions: Gendered evidence from rural Bangladesh:," IFPRI discussion papers 1465, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Patrick S. Ward & David L. Ortega & David J. Spielman & Neha Kumar & Sumedha Minocha, 2020. "Demand for Complementary Financial and Technological Tools for Managing Drought Risk," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 68(2), pages 607-653.
    4. Platteau, Jean-Philippe & De Bock, Ombeline & Gelade, Wouter, 2017. "The Demand for Microinsurance: A Literature Review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 139-156.
    5. Abdullah Al-Maruf & Sumyia Akter Mira & Tasnim Nazira Rida & Md Saifur Rahman & Pradip Kumar Sarker & J. Craig Jenkins, 2021. "Piloting a Weather-Index-Based Crop Insurance System in Bangladesh: Understanding the Challenges of Financial Instruments for Tackling Climate Risks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, August.
    6. Ahmed, T., 2013. "Scoping report: Current status of index-based insurance in Bangladesh," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 40289, April.
    7. Ortega, David L. & Ward, Patrick S. & Caputo, Vincenzina, 2019. "Evaluating producer preferences and information processing strategies for drought risk management tools in Bangladesh," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 1-1.

    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. Daniel Clarke & Francesca de Nicola & Ruth Vargas Hill & Neha Kumar & Parendi Mehta, 2015. "A Chat about Insurance: Experimental Results from Rural Bangladesh," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 37(3), pages 477-501.
    2. de Nicola, Francesca, 2015. "Handling the weather : insurance, savings, and credit in West Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7187, The World Bank.
    3. Quentin Stoeffler & Michael Carter & Catherine Guirkinger & Wouter Gelade, 2022. "The Spillover Impact of Index Insurance on Agricultural Investment by Cotton Farmers in Burkina Faso," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 114-140.
    4. Stoeffler, Quentin & Opuz, Gülce, 2022. "Price, information and product quality: Explaining index insurance demand in Burkina Faso," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    5. Hill, Ruth Vargas & Kumar, Neha & Magnan, Nicholas & Makhija, Simrin & de Nicola, Francesca & Spielman, David J. & Ward, Patrick S., 2019. "Ex ante and ex post effects of hybrid index insurance in Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1-17.
    6. Patrick S. Ward & Simrin Makhija & David J. Spielman, 2020. "Drought‐tolerant rice, weather index insurance, and comprehensive risk management for smallholders: evidence from a multi‐year field experiment in India," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(2), pages 421-454, April.
    7. Sibiko, Kenneth W. & Veettil, Prakashan C. & Qaim, Matin, 2016. "Small Farmers’ Preferences for Weather Index Insurance: Insights from Kenya," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 246399, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    8. Shawn Cole & Xavier Giné & James Vickery, 2017. "How Does Risk Management Influence Production Decisions? Evidence from a Field Experiment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(6), pages 1935-1970.
    9. Haile, Kaleab K. & Nillesen, Eleonora & Tirivayi, Nyasha, 2020. "Impact of formal climate risk transfer mechanisms on risk-aversion: Empirical evidence from rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    10. Petraud, Jean & Boucher, Stephen & Carter, Michael, 2015. "Competing theories of risk preferences and the demand for crop insurance: Experimental evidence from Peru," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211383, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Antoine Leblois & Philippe Quirion & Benjamin Sultan, 2013. "Price vs. weather shock hedging for cash crops: ex ante evaluation for cotton producers in Cameroon," Working Papers hal-00796528, HAL.
    12. Patrick S. Ward & David L. Ortega & David J. Spielman & Neha Kumar & Sumedha Minocha, 2020. "Demand for Complementary Financial and Technological Tools for Managing Drought Risk," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 68(2), pages 607-653.
    13. Sarah Janzen & Nicholas Magnan & Conner Mullally & Soye Shin & I. Bailey Palmer & Judith Oduol & Karl Hughes, 2021. "Can Experiential Games and Improved Risk Coverage Raise Demand for Index Insurance? Evidence from Kenya," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(1), pages 338-361, January.
    14. Immanuel Lampe & Daniel Würtenberger, 2019. "Loss Aversion And The Demand For Index Insurance," Working Papers on Finance 1907, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.
    15. Negi, Digvijay S., 2018. "Tail-dependent Rainfall Risk and Demand for Index based Crop Insurance," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274481, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Ceballos, Francisco, 2016. "Estimating spatial basis risk in rainfall index insurance: Methodology and application to excess rainfall insurance in Uruguay," IFPRI discussion papers 1595, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    17. Shin, Soye & Magnan, Nicholas & Mullally, Conner & Janzen, Sarah, 2022. "Demand for Weather Index Insurance among Smallholder Farmers under Prospect Theory," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 82-104.
    18. Ceballos, Francisco & Robles, Miguel, 2020. "Demand heterogeneity for index-based insurance: The case for flexible products," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    19. Hill, Ruth Vargas & Kumar, Neha & Magnan, Nicholas & Makhija, Simrin & de Nicola, Francesca & Spielman, David J. & Ward, Patrick S., 2017. "Insuring against droughts: Evidence on agricultural intensification and index insurance demand from a randomized evaluation in rural Bangladesh," IFPRI discussion papers 1630, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    20. Vieider, Ferdinand M. & Truong, Nghi & Martinsson, Peter & Pham Khanh Nam & Martinsson, Peter, 2013. "Risk preferences and development revisited: A field experiment in Vietnam," Discussion Papers, WZB Junior Research Group Risk and Development SP II 2013-403, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Risk; Insurance; demand; Elasticity; Decision-making; rural areas;
    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:fpr:ifprid:1202. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ifprius.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.