Philippe LeMay-Boucher

Rosca Participation in Benin: A Commitment Issue

In the light of first-hand data from a Beninese urban household survey in Cotonou, we investigate several motives aiming to explain participation in Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs). We provide empirical findings which lead us to think that the main reason why individuals join a ROSCA is to commit themselves against self-control problems.

Rosca Participation in Benin: A Commitment Issue*

In the light of first-hand data from a Beninese urban household survey in Cotonou, we investigate several motives aiming to explain participation in Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs). We provide empirical findings which lead us to think that the main reason why individuals join a ROSCA is to commit themselves against self-control problems.

Insurance for the poor: the case of informal insurance groups in Benin

Abstract This article studies indigenous insurance groups using evidence from urban areas in Benin. Many of these informal institutions co-exist within neighbourhood distance. They are based on well-defined rules and regulations, offering premium-based insurance for funeral expenses, as well as other forms of insurance and credit to cope with hardships. We first provide a description of these groups. We then investigate, with the help of an original dataset, which individual characteristics are significant in explaining both the likelihood of joining such groups and the choice of insurance coverage.

Is it all about Money? A Randomized Evaluation of the Impact of Insurance Literacy and Marketing Treatments on the Demand for Health Microinsurance in Senegal

In Senegal mutual health organizations (MHOs) have been present in the greater region of Thies for years. Despite their benefits, in some areas there remain low take-up rates. We offer an insurance literacy module, communicating the benefits from health microinsurance and the functioning of MHOs, to a randomly selected sample of households in the city of Thies. The effects of this training, and three cross-cutting marketing treatments, are evaluated using a randomized control trial. We find that the insurance literacy module has no impact, but that our marketing treatment has a significant effect on the take up decisions of households.

Beninese and Ethiopian Informal Insurance Groups: A Comparative Analysis

Informal insurance groups have been created in many poor regions in response to a risky environment typical of developing countries. Drawing on original datasets from Benin and Ethiopia, this article provides empirical evidence describing the various forms these indigenous institutions take. While their principal role has been to provide indemnities for funeral expenses, they also cater for a wide range of shocks. The article finds striking resemblances in group structures and types of coverage offered, suggesting that households for whom the costs of formal insurance contracts are prohibitive tend to deal with risk in a comparable way. Dissimilarities may reflect different local household structures or the extent to which these groups are advertised and known to the public.

Tax Structures, Economic Growth and Development

This paper investigates the relationship between tax structures and economic growth in a panel of developed and developing countries. In order to raise revenue, low-income countries have historically relied more heavily on international trade taxes, whilst richer nations employ comparatively more consumption and income taxes. Using the new Government Revenue Dataset (GRD) from the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), we consider the effects of revenue-neutral changes in tax structure on economic growth for a panel of over 100 countries with data covering the period 1980-2010. Results from the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CMG) estimator (Pesaran 2006) find that increases in income taxes (specifically personal income taxes) offset by reductions in trade or consumption taxes have had a negative impact on GDP growth rates. We also highlight the fact that trade liberalisation has not had any discernible positive effects on economic growth. Revenue-neutral increases in personal income taxes are found to be particularly harmful in middle- and low-income countries. Taken alongside the results of, for example, Baunsgaard and Keen (2010), this is a reminder of the difficulties of tax reform for developing countries.

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

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.

Social Interaction and Technology Adoption: Experimental Evidence from Improved Cookstoves in Mali

We investigate the role of social interaction in technology adoption by conducting a field experiment in neighborhoods of Bamako. We invited women to attend a training/marketing session, where information on a more efficient cooking stove was provided and the chance to purchase the product at market price was offered. We randomly provided an information nudge on a peer’s willingness to buy an improved cookstove. We find that women purchase and use the product more when they receive information on a peer who purchased (or previously owned) the product, particularly if she is viewed as respected. In general, we find positive direct and spillover effects of attending the session. We also investigate whether social interaction plays a role in technology diffusion. We find that women who participated in the session, but did not buy during the intervention, are more likely to adopt the product when more women living around them own it. We investigate the mechanisms and provide evidence supporting imitation effects, rather than social learning or constraint interaction.

Increasing anti-malaria bednet take-up using information and distribution strategies: evidence from a field trial in Senegal

ABSTRACT We evaluate the effects of different marketing and distribution techniques on the purchase of Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LL-ITN). Using an individually assigned quasi-randomised controlled trial in urban Senegal, we look at the impacts of different sale treatments. Receiving an offer to purchase an LL-ITN with a voucher valid for seven days increases purchases by 23 percentage points, compared to an on-the-spot sale offer. We find suggestive evidence that providing information is not significantly correlated to the demand for LL-ITNs, but appears to be for individuals who have never attended school and have poor knowledge of malaria.

Increasing Anti-Malaria Bednet Uptake Using Information and Distribution Strategies: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Senegal

We evaluate the effects of different marketing and distribution techniques on the purchase of Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LL-ITN). Using a randomized controlled trial in urban Senegal, we look at the impacts of receiving information on malaria-related issues and of different sale treatments. We find that overall information has no significant effect on the demand for LL-ITNs, but has a significant effect on individuals who have never attended school and have poor knowledge of malaria. Receiving an offer to purchase an LL-ITN with a voucher valid for 7 days increases purchases by 23 percentage points, compared to an on-the-spot sale offer.