Factors Affecting Livestock Insurance in Nomadic Households of Khuzestan Province: Application of Bayesian Econometrics

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 ِAssociate professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Rural Development, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Molasani, Iran.

2 Associate professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture Engineering and Rural Development, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran.

3 Assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture Engineering and Rural Development, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran.

4 Assistant professor, Agricultural Education and Extension Institute, Agricultural Extension, Education and Research Organization, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The livestock subsector, due to the specific nature of its products, is accompanied by numerous risks. Therefore, mitigating these risks should be at the center of policymakers’ decision-making. One of the most important policies in this regard, which is also supported by experts, is livestock insurance. A crucial aspect of this policy is its acceptance by stakeholders. This study aims to identify the factors influencing the acceptance of livestock insurance by nomadic households in Khuzestan Province. To this end, a binary probit model was estimated using the Metropolis-Hastings Markov Chain Monte Carlo estimator, which is one of the Bayesian econometric estimators. The necessary data were collected through questionnaires completed by 127 randomly selected nomadic households in 2024. The results showed that variables such as the incidence of damage, receipt of compensation, number of livestock, and internet access positively influence the probability of livestock insurance acceptance by nomadic households, while the age of the household head has a negative impact. Since proving the occurrence of damage requires the policyholder to deliver the head of the deceased livestock to the insurance company, the study suggests that the insurance company should relax this strict policy and show more flexibility in paying compensation by using other tools and, above all, by placing more trust in nomadic households. Additionally, providing necessary training, especially for the elderly, can increase their participation in the insurance process.

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