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Agro-biodiversity as natural insurance and the development of financial insurance markets

Author

Listed:
  • Stefan Baumgärtner

    (Centre for Sustainability, University of Lüneburg)

  • Martin F. Quaas

    (Department of Ecological Modelling, UFZ-Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle)

Abstract
Agro-biodiversity can provide natural insurance to risk averse farmers. We employ a conceptual ecological-economic model to analyze the choice of agrobiodiversity by risk averse farmers who have access to financial insurance. We study the implications for individually and socially optimal agro-ecosystem managementand policy design when on-farm agro-biodiversity, through ecosystem processes at higher hierarchical levels, generates a positive externality on other farmers. We show that for the individual farmer natural insurance from agro-biodiversty and financial insurance are substitutes. While an improved access to financial insurance leads to lower agro-biodiversity, the e ects on the market failure problem (due to the external benefits of on-farm agro-biodiversity) and on welfare are determined by properties of the agro-ecosystem and agro-biodiversity’s external benefits. We derive a specific condition on agro-ecosystem functioning under which, if financial insurance becomes more accessible, welfare in the absence of regulation increases or decreases.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Baumgärtner & Martin F. Quaas, 2007. "Agro-biodiversity as natural insurance and the development of financial insurance markets," Working Paper Series in Economics 61, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lue:wpaper:61
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Di Falco, Salvatore & Bezabih, Mintewab & Yesuf, Mahmud, 2010. "Seeds for livelihood: Crop biodiversity and food production in Ethiopia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1695-1702, June.
    2. Domptail, Stéphanie & Nuppenau, Ernst-August, 2010. "The role of uncertainty and expectations in modeling (range)land use strategies: An application of dynamic optimization modeling with recursion," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 2475-2485, October.
    3. Müller, Birgit & Quaas, Martin F. & Frank, Karin & Baumgärtner, Stefan, 2011. "Pitfalls and potential of institutional change: Rain-index insurance and the sustainability of rangeland management," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 2137-2144, September.
    4. Mintewab Bezabih & Mare Sarr, 2012. "Risk Preferences and Environmental Uncertainty: Implications for Crop Diversification Decisions in Ethiopia," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 53(4), pages 483-505, December.
    5. Krishna, Vijesh V. & Zilberman, David & Qaim, Matin, 2009. "GM Technology Adoption, Production Risk and On-farm Varietal Diversity," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49173, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Jessica Ingenillem & Joachim Merz & Stefan Baumgärtner, 2014. "Determinants and interactions of sustainability and risk management of commercial cattle farmers in Namibia," Working Paper Series in Economics 304, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    agro-biodiversity; ecosystem services; agro-ecosystem management; insurance; risk-aversion; uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q1 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities

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