Is a Friend in Need a Friend Indeed?: Inclusion and Exclusion in Mutual Insurance Networks in Southern Ghana

Markus Goldstein, Alain de Janvry () and Elisabeth Sadoulet ()

No DP2002-25, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: Mutual insurance has been shown, theoretically and empirically, to be incomplete and limited by asymmetric information and lack of enforcement mechanisms. While some research has shown that networks based on kinship, neighbourhood and ethnicity may provide a locus of insurance and thus a way of overcoming these problems, these studies are not fine enough to predict the inclusion and exclusion of individuals. Using data from rural Ghana, we examine the role of social relations in obtaining assistance in the face of shocks. We examine this at both intra-household and community levels.

Keywords: Households; Informal sector; Insurance; Risk; Social capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Is a Friend in Need a Friend Indeed? Inclusion and Exclusion in Mutual Insurance Networks in Southern Ghana (2003)
Working Paper: Is a Friend in Need a Friend Indeed? Inclusion and Exclusion in Mutual Insurance Networks in Southern Ghana (2003)
Working Paper: Is a Friend in Need a Friend Indeed? Inclusion and Exclusion in Mutual Insurance Networks in Southern Ghana (2002)
Working Paper: Is a friend in need a friend indeed? Inclusion and exclusion in mutual insurance networks in southern Ghana (2002)
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