Does Index Insurance Crowd In or Crowd Out Informal Risk Sharing? Evidence from Rural Ethiopia
研究埃塞俄比亚南部牧民中正式指数保险产品对非正式风险分担的影响，发现保险购买不显著改变人们通过传统习俗分担风险的意愿，且同伴购买保险可能略微增加对其的转移支付。
Abstract We study how the introduction of a formal index insurance product affects informal risk‐sharing among pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. Using detailed social networks data, randomized incentives to purchase the insurance product, and hypothetical informal transfer data that mirror the existing customary arrangements, we find respondents’ own formal insurance uptake has no significant effect on their willingness to share risk through customary institutions. We also find weak evidence that a randomly matched peer's insurance uptake positively influences respondents’ willingness to make informal transfers to that match. Overall, our results imply that in this context index insurance does not crowd out informal risk‐sharing mediated by social networks.