PHA-Exchange> Do Microfinance Programs Help Families

[Aviva]

>Do Microfinance Programs Help Families Insure Consumption Against Illness?
>
> By Paul Gertler, U.C. Berkeley and NBER
> David I. Levine, U.C. Berkeley
> Enrico Moretti, Department of Economics, UCLA
> Institute for Development Research, Boston, (2002)
>
> Available online as PDF file [25p.]
> at: http://www.bu.edu/econ/ied/seminars/pdf/levine9-30-02Microfinance.pdf
>
> Abstract: Families in developing countries face enormous financial risks
> from major illness both in terms of the cost of medical care and the loss
in
> income associated with reduced labor supply and productivity. Authors
tested
> whether access to microfinancial savings and lending institutions helps
> Indonesian families smooth consumption after declines in adult health. In
> general, results support the importance of these institutions in helping
> families to self-insure consumption
> against health shocks.
> ".....The paper concludes that governments should promote microfinance and
> microsavings programmes in addition to
> traditional tools such as subsidies, mandates, or direct government
> provision of health insurance and disability
> insurance.