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Does Community‐Based Health Insurance Protect Household Assets? Evidence from Rural Africa
Author(s) -
Parmar Divya,
Reinhold Steffen,
Souares Aurélia,
Savadogo Germain,
Sauerborn Rainer
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
health services research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1475-6773
pISSN - 0017-9124
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01321.x
Subject(s) - instrumental variable , ordinary least squares , covariate , selection bias , fixed effects model , household income , variable (mathematics) , socioeconomics , panel data , business , demographic economics , geography , economics , statistics , econometrics , mathematics , mathematical analysis , archaeology
Objective To evaluate whether community‐based health insurance ( CBHI ) protects household assets in rural B urkina F aso, A frica. Data Sources Data were used from a household panel survey that collected primary data from randomly selected households, covering 41 villages and one town, during 2004–2007( n = 890). Study Design The study area was divided into 33 clusters and CBHI was randomly offered to these clusters during 2004–2006. We applied different strategies to control for selection bias—ordinary least squares with covariates, two‐stage least squares with instrumental variable, and fixed‐effects models. Data Collection Household members were interviewed in their local language every year, and information was collected on demographic and socio‐economic indicators including ownership of assets, and on self‐reported morbidity. Principal Findings Fixed‐effects and ordinary least squares models showed that CBHI protected household assets during 2004–2007. The two‐stage least squares with instrumental variable model showed that CBHI increased household assets during 2004–2005. Conclusions In this study, we found that CBHI has the potential to not only protect household assets but also increase household assets. However, similar studies from developing countries that evaluate the impact of health insurance on household economic indicators are needed to benchmark these results with other settings.