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Life‐insurance Efficiency in China: A Comparison of Foreign and Domestic Firms

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  • Bingzheng Chen
  • Michael R. Powers
  • Joseph Qiu

Abstract

The Chinese life‐insurance industry has experienced major structural changes in recent years, primarily because of increasing demand and the entry of foreign insurers. Although the market is clearly booming, the efficiency of its growth and development is unclear. In this paper, we evaluate the efficiency of life insurers operating in China and compare foreign firms with domestic firms. We find that foreign insurers have not brought efficiency into the Chinese market, and that the market is still dominated by domestic giants. However, the gap between foreign insurers and domestic insurers is narrowing. After testing hypotheses regarding scale economy, technical progress and potential improvements, we discuss several issues of importance to life insurers, market investors and government regulators.

Suggested Citation

  • Bingzheng Chen & Michael R. Powers & Joseph Qiu, 2009. "Life‐insurance Efficiency in China: A Comparison of Foreign and Domestic Firms," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 17(6), pages 43-63, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:chinae:v:17:y:2009:i:6:p:43-63
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-124X.2009.01173.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cummins, J. David & Tennyson, Sharon & Weiss, Mary A., 1999. "Consolidation and efficiency in the US life insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2-4), pages 325-357, February.
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    5. Yao, Shujie & Han, Zhongwei & Feng, Genfu, 2007. "On technical efficiency of China's insurance industry after WTO accession," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 66-86.
    6. Yuengert, Andrew M., 1993. "The measurement of efficiency in life insurance: Estimates of a mixed normal-gamma error model," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2-3), pages 483-496, April.
    7. R. D. Banker & A. Charnes & W. W. Cooper, 1984. "Some Models for Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1078-1092, September.
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    9. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chakraborty Kalyan & Dutta Anirban & Sengupta Partha Pratim, 2012. "Efficiency and Productivity of Indian Life Insurance Industry," Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-28, December.
    2. Kwadjo Ansah-Adu & Charles Andoh & Joshua Abor, 2011. "Evaluating the cost efficiency of insurance companies in Ghana," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 13(1), pages 61-76, December.
    3. Douglas Bujakowski, 2021. "China's nonlife insurance market: New insights from the China Insurance Yearbook," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 24(1), pages 127-135, March.
    4. Khalid Al-Amri & Said Gattoufi & Saeed Al-Muharrami, 2012. "Analyzing the technical efficiency of insurance companies in GCC," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 13(4), pages 362-380, August.

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