Publication: Household Risk, Self-Insurance and Coping Strategies in Urban Argentina
Date
2001-10-16
ISSN
Published
2001-10-16
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
This study aims to analyze how economic
shocks and macroeconomic volatility affect urban Argentine
households, the mechanisms that households employ to survive
economic crises, and how successful these tools are.
Particular attention is given to the structure and wealth of
the household and the gender roles of its members. The
report identifies how to strengthen the risk management
tools to better weather future crises. First, it identifies
areas where the government can strengthen mechanisms used by
households to insure against the risk of income loss due to
a macroeconomic crisis or to cope with such loses when they
do occur. Second, the report addresses the appropriate role
of the government in providing assistance when risk
management by the household is absent or is not adequate.
Finally, recognizing that some household reactions to income
loss have important long term unintended negative effects,
the report recommends on how to discourage such costly
behaviors. Among the findings of the study are: Households
are not able to perfectly smooth consumption across periods
of economic volatility; thus, some adjustment is needed even
by the rich. No evidence exists that the macroeconomic
policies of the 1990s are directly responsible for changes
in manufacturing wages for skilled and unskilled workers.
Many Argentines insure against the risk of negative income
shocks by having mutiple jobs, and they turn to their
families when needed.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2001. Household Risk, Self-Insurance and Coping Strategies in Urban Argentina. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15467 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”