Risk-sharing networks and insurance against illness

Most risk-sharing tests on developing country data are conducted at the level of the village; generally, the full risk-sharing hypothesis is rejected. This paper uses detailed data on all insurance networks within a village in Tanzania; networks are not clustered but largely overlapping. We test whether full risk-sharing occurs within these networks. We find that even within these smaller networks risk is not fully shared. In the event of a health shock, households reduce overall consumption: they cut back non-food consumption by roughly 30%, while protecting their food consumption.