scholarly journals Perceptions of Farm Size Heterogeneity and Demand for Group Index Insurance

Games ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Kathryn Vasilaky ◽  
Sofía Martínez Sáenz ◽  
Radost Stanimirova ◽  
Daniel Osgood
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Real World ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Index Insurance ◽  
Group Index ◽  
Weather Shocks ◽  
Insurance Contracts ◽  
Individual Index ◽  
Size Heterogeneity ◽  
Weather Insurance

Weather insurance is a financial instrument proposed to increase coverage of unprotected weather shocks in developing countries. Structuring sales as group-based products has been argued as a strategy to increase the attractiveness of index insurance, raising the question as to what impacts farmer demand for group insurance choices. We test if farmers prefer to purchase real-world insurance products as groups, and if groups of more similar individuals are more likely to demand group over individual index insurance for the upcoming season. We exogenously assign farmers into groups of similar versus dissimilar perceived farm size. We find that farmers, when offered, prefer group over individual insurance contracts, and that groups of farmers who perceive each other to be more similar in farm size are more likely to purchase in a group, but purchase less insurance on average.

Informal Risk Sharing, Index Insurance, and Risk Taking in Developing Countries

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak ◽  
Mark R Rosenzweig
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
General Equilibrium ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Risk Sharing ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Index Insurance ◽  
Insurance Contracts ◽  
Agricultural Laborers ◽  
Informal Risk Sharing

Preliminary findings are presented from a research project which examined the interactions between informal risk sharing, index insurance and risk-taking. Rainfall insurance contracts were randomly offered to cultivating and landless households in a set of Indian villages where preexisting census data on caste networks allowed the characterization of the nature and extent of informal risk sharing. We study how informal risk sharing mediates the demand for index insurance, whether index insurance or informal indemnification allows farmers to invest in risky technologies, and the general equilibrium effects of offering insurance contracts to cultivators and agricultural laborers.

scholarly journals Contrasting Influences of Seasonal and Intra-Seasonal Hydroclimatic Variabilities on the Irrigated Rice Paddies of Northern Peninsular Malaysia for Weather Index Insurance Design

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5207
Author(s):  
Zed Zulkafli ◽  
Farrah Melissa Muharam ◽  
Nurfarhana Raffar ◽  
Amirparsa Jajarmizadeh ◽  
Mukhtar Jibril Abdi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Index Insurance ◽  
Weather Index ◽  
Basis Risk ◽  
Insurance Contracts ◽  
Weather Index Insurance ◽  
Streamflow Statistics

Good index selection is key to minimising basis risk in weather index insurance design. However, interannual, seasonal, and intra-seasonal hydroclimatic variabilities pose challenges in identifying robust proxies for crop losses. In this study, we systematically investigated 574 hydroclimatic indices for their relationships with yield in Malaysia’s irrigated double planting system, using the Muda rice granary as a case study. The responses of seasonal rice yields to seasonal and monthly averages and to extreme rainfall, temperature, and streamflow statistics from 16 years’ observations were examined by using correlation analysis and linear regression. We found that the minimum temperature during the crop flowering to the maturity phase governed yield in the drier off-season (season 1, March to July, Pearson correlation, r = +0.87; coefficient of determination, R2 = 74%). In contrast, the average streamflow during the crop maturity phase regulated yield in the main planting season (season 2, September to January, r = +0.82, R2 = 67%). During the respective periods, these indices were at their lowest in the seasons. Based on these findings, we recommend temperature- and water-supply-based indices as the foundations for developing insurance contracts for the rice system in northern Peninsular Malaysia.

scholarly journals Does the inverse farm size productivity hypothesis hold for perennial monocrop systems in developing countries? Evidence from Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-252
Author(s):  
Josiah Ateka ◽  
◽  
Perez Ayieko Onono-Okelo ◽  
Martin Etyang ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Mixed Cropping ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Household Survey Data ◽  
Robust Measures

The inverse farm size and productivity relationship (IR) is a recurring theme in the literature. However, most previous studies were undertaken within a setting of mixed cropping systems. In this article, we investigate the effect of farm size on productivity within the context of a perennial monocropping system, acute competition for farmland, frequent subdivision of farms and declining yields. We apply household survey data of smallholder tea farms in western Kenya and consider both technical efficiency (TE) and the yield per hectare as indicators of productivity. The findings show that the effect of farm size on productivity is nonlinear, with TE initially declining and then rising with farm size. The findings also demonstrate that the farm size and productivity relationship is important for perennial monocrops and that the use of robust measures of productivity is important for the IR. The findings have important implications for agricultural policy in developing countries.

Gamification Research

2020 ◽  
pp. 397-412
Author(s):  
Kingsley Ofosu-Ampong ◽  
Thomas Anning-Dorson
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Real World ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Agriculture Education ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Scopus Database ◽  
Education Business

Despite advances in information technology, studies suggest that there is little knowledge of how developing countries are applying gamification in agriculture, education, business, health, and other domains. Thus, from a systematic review, this chapter examines the extent of gamification research in the developing country context. In this chapter, 56 articles were reviewed, and the search was done in the Scopus database. This chapter explains the idea of game design elements in information systems and provides real-world examples of gamified systems outcomes from developing countries. The authors conclude with directions for future research to extend our knowledge of gamification and advance the existing methodologies, domains, and theories.

e-Government Implementation in a Developing Country

2011 ◽  
pp. 262-289
Author(s):  
Marvine Hamner ◽  
Martin A. Negrón ◽  
Doaa Taha ◽  
Salah Brahimi
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Real World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Political Turmoil

When e-Government projects fail, the costs to developing countries can be extraordinarily high. Therefore, the importance of understanding the risks, the ability to manage those risks, or when necessary, to minimize the costs, is incredibly important. One way of developing this understanding, of determining how to manage the risks present, is to study real-world examples. This case study explores one developing country’s attempts to implement e-Government. These attempts have taken place over a roughly twenty year period and four different administrations. Millions of dollars have been spent, but an interactive, inter-agency e-Government system remains elusive. The reasons for this are described in this case study along with relevant country political and economic data. The conclusion is that until the political turmoil within this country is resolved, e-Government, and likely many other government initiatives, will continue to be unsuccessful.

Add-on tiotropium versus step-up inhaled corticosteroid plus long-acting beta-2‐agonist in real-world patients with asthma

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 248-255
Author(s):  
Bradley Chipps ◽  
Giselle Mosnaim ◽  
Sameer K. Mathur ◽  
Asif Shaikh ◽  
Samir Khoury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Index Date ◽  
Group Versus ◽  
Group Index ◽  
Inhaled Corticosteroid ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
Exacerbation Risk ◽  
Beta 2 ◽  
Long Acting ◽  
The Impact

Background: A step-up approach (increasing inhaled corticosteroid [ICS] dose and/or add-on treatment) is recommended for asthma that is uncontrolled despite ICS plus long-acting beta-2‐agonist (LABA) combination treatment. Understanding the impact of different treatment options on health outcomes can help guide treatment decision-making. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of add-on tiotropium 1.25 µg (two puffs once daily) versus an increased ICS plus LABA dose in a real-world cohort of patients with asthma initiated on ICS plus LABA. Methods: De-identified data from patients ages ≥12 years and with asthma who were initiated on ICS plus LABA, and then had tiotropium added (Tio group; index date) or an ICS plus LABA dose increased (inc-ICS group; index date) were collected from two medical and pharmacy claims data bases (2014‐2018). To account for population/group differences, propensity score matching was performed. The primary end point was the exacerbation risk after the index date. Secondary end points included exacerbation rates 6 and 12 months postindex, health-care resource utilization, costs, and short-acting beta-2‐agonist (SABA) refills 12 months postindex. Results: Overall, 7857 patients (Tio group, 2619; inc-ICS group, 5238) were included. The exacerbation risk was 35% lower in the Tio group than in the inc-ICS group (hazard ratio 0.65 [95% confidence interval, 0.43‐0.99]; p = 0.044). Exacerbation rates in the Tio group also were significantly lower within 6 and 12 months postindex (64% and 73%, respectively). All-cause and asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits were 47% and 74% lower, respectively (p < 0.0001 for both), and all-cause and asthma-related hospitalizations were 48% (p < 0.01) and 76% (p < 0.001) lower, respectively, in the Tio group. Also, significantly fewer patients in the Tio group versus the inc-ICS group required SABA refills (56% versus 67%, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Add-on tiotropium significantly decreased the risk and rate of exacerbations, decreased all-cause and asthma-related ED visits and hospitalizations, and reduced SABA refills compared with increasing the ICS plus LABA dose. The findings supported the use of add-on tiotropium for patients with uncontrolled asthma taking ICS plus LABA.

Marx And Disequilibrium in Market Socialist Relations of Production

1987 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Scott Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Real World ◽  
Economic Organization ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
Basic Form ◽  
Market Socialism

One feature of socialism that has been little discussed in the recent revival of interest in Marx is the basic form of economic organization that will characterize such a society. Marx's view, to be documented in what follows, is that socialism would not have a market economy. This prediction should be a matter of some embarrassment or consternation to twentieth-century socialists outside of the Soviet bloc who claim a Marxist heritage. Despite the fact (or perhaps because of the fact) that some socialist regimes in the first half of this century did carry out a program of (largely) abolishing the market, the abolition of markets is no longer on the agenda for developed and developing countries. On the Left, anyway, some form of market socialism seems to be the preferred alternative; Yugoslavia is often pointed to as an imperfect real world exemplar of what market socialism might be like.

scholarly journals Evaluating the quality of remote sensing products for agricultural index insurance

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258215
Author(s):  
Benson K. Kenduiywo ◽  
Michael R. Carter ◽  
Aniruddha Ghosh ◽  
Robert J. Hijmans
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Insurance Contract ◽  
Index Insurance ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
Insurance Contracts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Economic Well Being

Agricultural index insurance contracts increasingly use remote sensing data to estimate losses and determine indemnity payouts. Index insurance contracts inevitably make errors, failing to detect losses that occur and issuing payments when no losses occur. The quality of these contracts and the indices on which they are based, need to be evaluated to assess their fitness as insurance, and to provide a guide to choosing the index that best protects the insured. In the remote sensing literature, indices are often evaluated with generic model evaluation statistics such as R2 or Root Mean Square Error that do not directly consider the effect of errors on the quality of the insurance contract. Economic analysis suggests using measures that capture the impact of insurance on the expected economic well-being of the insured. To bridge the gap between the remote sensing and economic perspectives, we adopt a standard economic measure of expected well-being and transform it into a Relative Insurance Benefit (RIB) metric. RIB expresses the welfare benefits derived from an index insurance contract relative to a hypothetical contract that perfectly measures losses. RIB takes on its maximal value of one when the index contract offers the same economic benefits as the perfect contract. When it achieves none of the benefits of insurance it takes on a value of zero, and becomes negative if the contract leaves the insured worse off than having no insurance. Part of our contribution is to decompose this economic well-being measure into an asymmetric loss function. We also argue that the expected well-being measure we use has advantages over other economic measures for the normative purpose of insurance quality ascertainment. Finally, we illustrate the use of the RIB measure with a case study of potential livestock insurance contracts in Northern Kenya. We compared 24 indices that were made with 4 different statistical models and 3 remote sensing data sources. RIB for these indices ranged from 0.09 to 0.5, and R2 ranged from 0.2 to 0.51. While RIB and R2 were correlated, the model with the highest RIB did not have the highest R2. Our findings suggest that, when designing and evaluating an index insurance program, it is useful to separately consider the quality of a remote sensing-based index with a metric like the RIB instead of a generic goodness-of-fit metric.

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