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Foreign Ownership and Non‐Life Insurer Efficiency in the Japanese Marketplace

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  • Li‐Ying Huang
  • Yu‐Luen Ma
  • Nat Pope

Abstract

Traditional shareholding patterns in Japan have experienced significant change beginning in the early 1990s. Since that time, foreign institutional shareholding has increased significantly largely at the expense of domestic financial institution ownership. This article examines whether these changes in ownership patterns share a relationship with insurer performance in the non‐life insurance market. Using data from 1992 to 2005, we assess performance in terms of efficiency measures using data envelopment analyses (DEA) techniques. Our results show that higher levels of domestic financial institution ownership in Japan are associated with insurer inefficiency. Relative to that relationship, the foreign ownership–insurer efficiency relationship is found to be positive. Additionally, we find that the disparity between those relationships has become more acute since 2001 when the Japanese non‐life insurance market experienced significant consolidation.

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  • Li‐Ying Huang & Yu‐Luen Ma & Nat Pope, 2012. "Foreign Ownership and Non‐Life Insurer Efficiency in the Japanese Marketplace," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 15(1), pages 57-88, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:rmgtin:v:15:y:2012:i:1:p:57-88
    DOI: j.1540-6296.2011.01202.x
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    2. Khoa Dang Duong & Ai Nhan Ngoc Le & Diep Van Nguyen & Hoa Thanh Phan Le, 2023. "Impact of Ownership Structure and Business Diversifications on the Risk-Taking Behaviors of Insurance Companies in Vietnam," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    3. Mohammad Nourani & Qian Long Kweh & Evelyn Shyamala Devadason & V.G.R. Chandran, 2020. "A decomposition analysis of managerial efficiency for the insurance companies: A data envelopment analysis approach," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(6), pages 885-901, September.
    4. Mohammad Nourani & VGR Chandran & Qian Long Kweh & Wen-Min Lu, 2018. "Measuring Human, Physical and Structural Capital Efficiency Performance of Insurance Companies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 281-315, May.
    5. Christian Biener & Martin Eling, 2013. "Recent Research Developments Affecting Nonlife Insurance—The CAS Risk Premium Project 2012 Update," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 16(2), pages 219-231, September.

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