Remittances, Banking Status and the Usage of Insurance Schemes

Dorothee Crayen, Christa Hainz and Christiane Ströh de Martinez

No 3117, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Empirical evidence that migrants send home more remittances after disasters raises the question of whether remittances can be used to self-insure, substituting for both formal and informal insurance. We investigate this question using a unique data set on the usage patterns of financial services by households in South Africa. We show that the likelihood that a respondent has a formal funeral cover increases with income and banking status. However, it is lower for individuals receiving remittances, which supports the idea that remittances act as (self-) insurance. We also show that purchasing formal funeral cover is influenced by other risk management strategies and that determinants of informal insurance differ from those of formal insurance.

Keywords: remittances; insurance; risk management strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 F24 G22 O16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Remittances, Banking Status and the Usage of Insurance Schemes (2013)
Working Paper: Remittances, Banking Status and the Usage of Insurance Schemes (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_3117

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