How neighbours influence commercial health insurance purchase: evidence from 2451 rural households in west China. Issue 3 (3rd July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Han, Kefei; Tan, Jing
• Is Part Of: Journal of development effectiveness. Volume 13:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 329
• Page End: 341
• Publication Date: 2021-07-03
• Subjects: Neighbourhood effect -- commercial health insurance -- health service -- rural China; Economic development -- Periodicals; Developing countries -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; Economic development; Economic history; Developing countries; Periodicals; 338.91724
• DOI: 10.1080/19439342.2021.1953569
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1943-9342

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper aims to identify whether neighbors would influence the rural household's decision on commercial health insurance purchase by using a representative sample in west China. We applied an instrumental variable (IV) approach to measure the neighborhood effect, run multiple robustness checks and several heterogeneity analyses. The empirical results find that as neighbors' commercial health insurance purchases increase one unit, the focal family's possibility of purchase would increase by 0.420 units. These results may have some implications for policy-makers to develop the health insurance industry in rural areas more effectively.