Do Spouses Make Claims? Health Seeking and Microfinance In India

19 Pages Posted: 25 Jun 2009

See all articles by Ashok Rai

Ashok Rai

Williams College

Shamika Ravi

Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM)

Date Written: March 31, 2009

Abstract

We study a micro-finance program that provides compulsory health insurance to its borrowers and their spouses. We find that the non-borrowing spouses are less likely to file insurance claims than those who are borrowing. Further, a man is more likely to use the health insurance acquired through his wife's loan than is a woman (through her husband's loan). These patterns suggest that women who do not borrow are disempowered relative to those that do.

Keywords: microfinance, health insurance, empowerment

JEL Classification: D12, G22, I11, J16

Suggested Citation

Rai, Ashok and Ravi, Shamika, Do Spouses Make Claims? Health Seeking and Microfinance In India (March 31, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1424823 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1424823

Ashok Rai

Williams College ( email )

Williamstown, MA 01267
United States

Shamika Ravi (Contact Author)

Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) ( email )

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