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Households' Willingness to Pay for Health Microinsurance and its Impact on Actual Take-up: Results from a Field Experiment in Senegal

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  • Jacopo Bonan
  • Philippe LeMay-Boucher
  • Michel Tenikue

Abstract

Community-based health insurance schemes (CBHIS) have been present in the region of Theis, Senegal, for many years. Yet, despite the benefits they offer, take-up rates remain low. This article measures the willingness to pay (WTP) for CBHIS premiums in such a context; our results highlight the role of income, wealth and risk preferences as determinants of WTP. We also provide an analysis of the predictive power of WTP on the actual take-up of insurance following our offering of membership to a sample of 360 households. Results show that WTP has a positive and significant impact on actual CBHIS take-up.

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  • Jacopo Bonan & Philippe LeMay-Boucher & Michel Tenikue, 2014. "Households' Willingness to Pay for Health Microinsurance and its Impact on Actual Take-up: Results from a Field Experiment in Senegal," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(10), pages 1445-1462, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:50:y:2014:i:10:p:1445-1462
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2014.940909
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    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General

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