The Impact of Commercial Rainfall Index Insurance: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia
在埃塞俄比亚干旱地区引入商业降雨指数保险，发现市场价下参保率极低（0.5%-3%），补贴和培训虽能提高参保意愿，但未能改善农业生产和收入。
We present the results of an experiment introducing commercial rainfall index insurance into drought‐prone farming cooperatives in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. We provided a market‐priced rainfall deficit insurance product through producer cooperatives and tested a number of potential ways to kick start private demand. Take up of the insurance at market prices is very low, between 0.5% and 3% across seasons. When we use a randomized experiment to distribute small free insurance contracts to farmers, 39% of subsidized individuals enroll but this fails to stimulate input use, yields, or income, nor does it enhance demand in subsequent seasons. A training and promotion on the product improves uptake and willingness to pay but also does not improve farming outcomes. We conclude with a case study of our efforts to interlink index insurance with credit for agricultural inputs.