Managing Risk with Insurance and Savings : Experimental Evidence for Male and Female Farm Managers in the Sahel

Delavallade, Clara ; Dizon, Felipe ; Vargas Hill, Ruth ; Petraud, Jean Paul

World Bank Group, Washington, DC

关键词: AGRICULTURAL INCOMES;    AGRICULTURAL INPUTS;    AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE;    AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT;    AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7176
RP-ID  :  WPS7176

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Although there is fast-growing policyinterest in offering financial products to help ruralhouseholds manage risk, the literature is still scant as towhich products are the most effective. This paper uses arandomized field experiment in Senegal and Burkina Faso tocompare male and female farmers who are offered index-basedagricultural insurance with those who are offered a varietyof savings instruments. The paper finds that female farmmanagers were less likely to purchase agricultural insuranceand more likely to invest in savings for emergencies, evencontrolling for access to informal insurance and differencesin crop choice. It is hypothesized that this finding resultsfrom the fact that, although men and women are equallyexposed to yield risk, women face additional sources oflifecycle risk -- particularly health risks associated withfertility and childcare -- that men do not. In essence, thebasis risk associated with agricultural insurance productsis higher for women. Purchasing insurance increased inputspending and use more than savings. Those who purchased moreinsurance realized higher average yields and were betterable to manage food insecurity and shocks. This findingsuggests that gender differences in demand for financialproducts can have an impact on productivity, resilience, and welfare.