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Utility, Risk and Demand for Incomplete Insurance: Lab Experiments with Guatemalan Co-Operatives

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  • Craig McIntosh
  • Felix Povel
  • Elisabeth Sadoulet

Abstract

We play a series of incentivised laboratory games with risk-exposed co-operativised Guatemalan coffee farmers to understand the demand for index-based rainfall insurance. We estimate an explicit utility curve for every player and hence predict expected utility demand under counterfactual scenarios. Using these estimates, we provide a precise money-metric decomposition of the extent to which the low observed demand for index insurance is driven by expected utility theory, or by behavioural issues arising from a prospect-style utility structure. Our results suggest that consumers value probabilistic insurance using a prospect-style utility function that is concave both in probabilities and in income.

Suggested Citation

  • Craig McIntosh & Felix Povel & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2019. "Utility, Risk and Demand for Incomplete Insurance: Lab Experiments with Guatemalan Co-Operatives," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(622), pages 2581-2607.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:129:y:2019:i:622:p:2581-2607.
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    1. Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo & Richard Hornbeck, 2018. "How Much do Existing Borrowers Value Microfinance? Evidence from an Experiment on Bundling Microcredit and Insurance," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 85(340), pages 671-700, October.
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    2. Eling, Martin & Ghavibazoo, Omid & Hanewald, Katja, 2021. "Willingness to take financial risks and insurance holdings: A European survey," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    3. Stoeffler, Quentin & Opuz, Gülce, 2022. "Price, information and product quality: Explaining index insurance demand in Burkina Faso," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    4. Shukri Ahmed & Craig McIntosh & Alexandros Sarris, 2020. "The Impact of Commercial Rainfall Index Insurance: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(4), pages 1154-1176, August.
    5. Anderberg, Dan & Morsink, Karlijn, 2020. "The introduction of formal insurance and its effect on redistribution," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 22-45.
    6. Johannes G. Jaspersen & Richard Peter & Marc A. Ragin, 2023. "Probability weighting and insurance demand in a unified framework," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 48(1), pages 63-109, March.
    7. Visser, Martine & le Roux, Leonard & Mulwa, Chalmers K. & Tibesigwa, Byela & Bezabih, Mintewab, 2024. "Adaptive investment with land tenure and weather risk: Behavioral evidence from Tanzania," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 398-434.
    8. Glenn W. Harrison & Jia Min Ng, 2019. "Behavioral insurance and economic theory: A literature review," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 22(2), pages 133-182, July.
    9. Cárcamo, Jorge & von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan, 2016. "Assessing small-scale raspberry producers’ risk and ambiguity preferences: evidence from field- experiment data in rural Chile," Department of Agricultural and Rural Development (DARE) Discussion Papers 260774, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    10. Tesselaar, Max & Botzen, W.J. Wouter & Robinson, Peter J. & Aerts, Jeroen C.J.H. & Zhou, Fujin, 2022. "Charity hazard and the flood insurance protection gap: An EU scale assessment under climate change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    11. Cárcamo, Jorge & Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan von, 2016. "Assessing small-scale raspberry producers' risk and ambiguity preferences: Evidence from field-experiment data in rural Chile," DARE Discussion Papers 1610, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    12. King, Michael & Singh, Anuj Pratap, 2020. "Understanding farmers’ valuation of agricultural insurance: Evidence from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    13. Visser, Martine & Jumare, Hafsah & Brick, Kerri, 2020. "Risk preferences and poverty traps in the uptake of credit and insurance amongst small-scale farmers in South Africa," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 826-836.

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