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Risk Attitudes with State-Dependent Indivisibilities in Consumption

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  • Fels, Markus

Abstract

Some consumption opportunities, e.g. medical treatments, are both indivisible and only valuable in particular states of nature. The existence of such state-dependent indivisible consumption opportunities influences a person's risk attitudes. In general, people are not risk averse anymore even if utility from divisible consumption is concave. I propose a definition of insurance in the context of state-dependent preferences and investigate the different motives underlying insurance demand. The same reasons that rule out risk aversion turn out to be the basis of a desire to insure.This calls into question the standard approach that bases insurance demand on risk aversion with important implications for policy and research.

Suggested Citation

  • Fels, Markus, 2019. "Risk Attitudes with State-Dependent Indivisibilities in Consumption," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203489, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc19:203489
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vasquez, Markus, 2017. "Utility of wealth with many indivisibilities," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 20-27.
    2. de Meza, David, 1983. "Health insurance and the demand for medical care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 47-54, March.
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    4. Markus Fels, 2020. "Mental Accounting, Access Motives, and Overinsurance," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(2), pages 675-701, April.
    5. Rachel Huang & Larry Tzeng, 2006. "The design of an optimal insurance contract for irreplaceable commodities," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Springer;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 31(1), pages 11-21, July.
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    7. Markus Fels, 2020. "On the value of Medicaid in providing access to long‐term care," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(4), pages 933-948, August.
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    9. Markus Fels, 2020. "Incentivizing efficient utilization without reducing access: The case against cost‐sharing in insurance," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(7), pages 827-840, July.
    10. Nyman, John A., 1999. "The value of health insurance: the access motive," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 141-152, April.
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    1. Markus Fels, 2020. "Incentivizing efficient utilization without reducing access: The case against cost‐sharing in insurance," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(7), pages 827-840, July.
    2. Fels, Markus, 2021. "Why Do People Buy Insurance? A Modern Answer to an Old Question," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242418, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Risk Preferences; Indivisible Consumption; Insurance; Gambling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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