This paper examines how changes in major elements of the U.S. federal crop insurance program affect the structure of the agricultural insurance industry. We model interactions between farmers, insurance agents and insurance companies. Marginal changes in government policy (premium subsidy rate, A&O subsidy rate, and loading factor) affect the insurance premium rate, agent compensation rates, ag...

Multiple tax subsidies are available to many buyers and sellers of health insurance. These subsidies have the potential of creating excess demand for health insurance, which in turn can create excess demand for health services. A review of the literature on the effects of the tax subsidies on the price of health care shows that these subsidies, by raising prices in the medical sector, constrain...

The paper reviews attempts to provide insurance against risks afflicting the poorest. It presents empirical evidence on the impact of different types of microinsurance, and recommends the idea of ‘quasi-insurance’—the provision of insurance functions through a non-insurance route—where institutional or regulatory constraints prevent insurance proper from being offered. The paper argues that mic...