Poverty traps and Index-Based risk transfer products

A growing literature suggests that in low-income countries, households with few assets can be trapped in chronic poverty. This article reviews relevant threads of the poverty traps literature to motivate a description of the opportunities presented by innovative index-based risk transfer products. T...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Barnett, B.J., Barrett, Christopher B., Skees, J.R.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2008
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/927
Description
Summary:A growing literature suggests that in low-income countries, households with few assets can be trapped in chronic poverty. This article reviews relevant threads of the poverty traps literature to motivate a description of the opportunities presented by innovative index-based risk transfer products. These products can be used to address some insurance and credit market failures that contribute to the persistence of poverty among households in low-income countries. Applications are considered at the micro, meso, and macro levels.