Economics of Agricultural Crop Insurance: Theory and Evidence (Natural Resource Management and Policy, 4)

Government subsidized crop insurance has been used by a number of developed countries as a mechanism to reduce farm income instability by reducing yield risks. This book provides an in-depth analysis and evaluation of government provided crop insurance in developed countries. The book is organized into three sections: Part one presents background material on crop insurance programs in the U.S., Canada and selected other countries. Part two provides some analytical models of multiple peril crop insurance which suggest the possibility of modification of design which could improve performance and which explores theoretical linkages between crop insurance decisions and other producer decisions previously not analyzed. The main part of the book is Part three, where the results of a series of empirical studies using databases particularly designed to answer crop insurance questions are presented. This part of the book tests a number of the hypotheses which were raised in Parts one and two regarding reasons for the view widely held by economists that crop insurance has not functioned well. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction and Overview....Pages 3-13 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 Crop Insurance in U.S. Farm Policy....Pages 17-44 An Aggregate Analysis of Canadian Crop Insurance Policy....Pages 45-72 All-Risk Crop Insurance: Lessons from Theory and Experience....Pages 73-112 Front Matter....Pages 113-113 The Optimal Design of Crop Insurance....Pages 115-134 Agricultural Insurance, Production and the Environment....Pages 135-165 Crop Insurance In The Context of Canadian and U.S. Farm Programs....Pages 167-201 Front Matter....Pages 203-203 An Empirical Analysis of U.S. Participation in Crop Insurance....Pages 205-252 Crop Insurance and Crop Production: An Empirical Study of Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection....Pages 253-272 Crop Insurance Decisions and Financial Characteristics of Farms....Pages 273-291 Risk Reduction from Diversification and Crop Insurance in Saskatchewan....Pages 293-305 Crop Insurance and Agricultural Chemical Use....Pages 307-322 Crop Insurance: Its Influence on Land and Input Use Decisions in Saskatchewan....Pages 323-347 Providing Catastrophic Yield Protection Through a Targeted Revenue Program....Pages 349-362 Back Matter....Pages 363-380 Government subsidized crop insurance has been used by a number of developed countries as a mechanism to reduce farm income instability by reducing yield risks. Economics of Agricultural Crop Insurance: Theory and Evidence provides an in-depth analysis and evaluation of government provided crop insurance in developed countries. The book is organized into three sections. Part one presents background material on crop insurance programs in the U.S., Canada and selected other countries. Part two provides some analytical models of multiple peril crop insurance which suggest the possibility of modification of design which could improve performance and which explores theoretical linkages between crop insurance decisions and other producer decisions previously not analyzed. The main part of the book is part three where the results of a series of empirical studies using data bases particularly designed to answer crop insurance related questions are presented. This part of the book tests a number of the hypotheses which were raised in parts one and two regarding reasons for the widely held view by economists that crop insurance has not functioned well.