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Insurance in Extended Family Networks

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We investigate partial insurance and group risk sharing in extended family networks. Our approach is based on decomposing income shocks into group aggregate and idiosyncratic components, allowing us to measure the extent to which each component is insured. We apply our framework to extended family networks in the United States by exploiting the unique intergenerational structure of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We "nd that over 60% of shocks to household income are potentially insurable within extended family networks. However, we "nd little evidence that the extended family provides insurance for such idiosyncratic shocks.

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  • Orazio Attanasio & Corina Mommaerts & Costas Meghir, 2015. "Insurance in Extended Family Networks," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1996R, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University, revised Jun 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1996r
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    2. Krislert Samphantharak & Robert Townsend, 2016. "Risk and Return in Village Economies," PIER Discussion Papers 27, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Harvey S. Rosen & Alexander J.W. Sappington, 2016. "To Borrow or Not to Borrow? An Analysis of University Leverage Decisions," Working Papers 249, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    4. Claus Thustrup Kreiner & Søren Leth-Petersen & Louise Charlotte Willerslev-Olsen, 2020. "Financial Trouble Across Generations: Evidence from the Universe of Personal Loans in Denmark," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(625), pages 233-262.
    5. Jessamyn Schaller & Chase Eck, 2019. "Adverse Life Events and Intergenerational Transfers," Upjohn Working Papers 19-309, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    6. Fan, Ying & Wang, Yidi & Yang, Zan, 2024. "Offspring’s Uncertainty and Dynastic Decisions: Evidence from Urban China," Working Paper Series 24/4, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance.
    7. Asger Lau Andersen & Niels Johannesen & Adam Sheridan, 2020. "Bailing out the Kids: New Evidence on Informal Insurance from one Billion Bank Transfers," CEBI working paper series 20-19, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    8. Corina Boar, 2020. "Dynastic Precautionary Savings," NBER Working Papers 26635, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Rosen, Harvey S. & Sappington, Alexander J.W., 2016. "To borrow or not to borrow? An analysis of university leverage decisions," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 170-185.
    10. Agustín Díaz Casanueva, 2024. "The Role of Parental Altruism in Parents Consumption, College Financial Support, and Outcomes in Higher Education," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 1005, Central Bank of Chile.
    11. Corina Boar, 2021. "Dynastic Precautionary Savings [“Deconstructing Life Cycle Expenditure”]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(6), pages 2735-2765.
    12. Harvey S. Rosen & Alexander J. W. Sappington, 2016. "To Borrow or Not to Borrow? An Analysis of University Leverage Decisions," NBER Working Papers 21951, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Corina Boar, 2017. "Dynastic Precautionary Savings," 2017 Meeting Papers 343, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    14. Krislert Samphantharak & Robert M. Townsend, 2018. "Risk and Return in Village Economies," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 1-40, February.
    15. Harvey S. Rosen & Alexander J. W. Sappington, 2016. "Impact of Endowment Shocks on Payouts," Working Papers 250, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    16. Pietrobon, Davide, 2024. "The dual role of insurance in input use: Mitigating risk versus curtailing incentives," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Incomplete markets; Partial Insurance; Consumption smoothing; Extended Family Networks; Savings; Intergenerational transfers; Stochastic income processes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

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