Risk and ambiguity aversion behavior in index-based insurance uptake decisions:Experimental evidence from Ethiopia

Index-based insurance (IBI) is an innovative pro-poor climate risk management strategy that suffers from low uptake. Evidence on the role of behavioral impediments in adoption of IBI is scant. We conducted lab-in-the-field experiments with 1139 smallholders out of whom 596 have adopted IBI in Ethiopia to elicit their risk and ambiguity aversion behavior, and examine whether risk and/or ambiguity aversion can explain actual IBI uptake decisions. Our study suggests that an increase in risk-aversion increases uptake, but an increase in ambiguity-aversion lowers uptake of IBI. We also find evidence that an increase in risk aversion speeds-up the uptake of IBI, while an increase in ambiguity aversion delays the adoption of IBI

Data for: Trust, Information, and Liquidity Constraints to Adopting Weather Insurance: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Ethiopia

We report the results of a drought insurance experiment in Ethiopia, and examine whether uptake of index-based insurance is enhanced if we allow farmers to pay after harvest (addressing a liquidity constraint). We also test to what extent uptake can be enhanced by promoting insurance via informal risk-sharing institutions (Iddirs), to reduce trust and information problems. The delayed payment insurance product increases uptake substantially when compared to standard insurance, from 8% to 24%, and leveraging informal institutions results in even greater uptake (43%). We also find suggestive evidence that the delayed premium product is indeed better at targeting the liquidity constrained. However, default rates associated with delayed payments are relatively high and concentrated in a small number of Iddirs – potentially compromising the economic viability of the novel product. We discuss how default rates can be reduced