Herskowitz, Sylvan

Kleemans, Marieke

Pulido, Cristhian

While formal insurance is widespread in much of the developed world, households in lower-income countries continue to rely heavily on informal risk-sharing networks when faced with unexpected shocks. Kin networks of non-coresident family members may play an important role by providing each other with informal social protection, sharing resources in response to correlated production shocks (rainfall) or idiosyncratic household shocks (sickness and death). Using detailed panel data from Indonesia, we examine how inter-household transfers within a household’s kin network respond to different types of shocks and whether they are able to reduce household vulnerability. We find that households are exposed to meaningful risk from variations in local rainfall in the form of both income and household consumption. Rainfall substantially increases both transfers sent and received by households, suggesting that household and local supply effects dominate demand effects resulting from rainfall fluctuation. Finally, we find modest evidence that transfers reduce vulnerability of consumption to rainfall fluctuations by up to 11%, but do not find strong evidence on the efficacy of formal social protection programs.

Kin transfers as safety nets in response to idiosyncratic and correlated shocks

de Brauw, Alan

Ambler, Kate

Sayaka, Bambang

Pasaribu, Sahat M.

Dabukke, Frans B. M.

Suhartini, Sri Hastuti

Suryani, Erma

Suwarno, Agus

Moyes, Tom

Smallholder farmers in developing countries face substantial constraints that limit their ability to reach their production potential. Two constraints—risk exposure and limited access to liquidity—pose particular challenges. Smallholders face a wide variety of risks that constrain both the choices they can make and their willingness to make investments. Limited availability of affordable credit, borrowing and saving products poorly aligned with the needs of the agriculture sector, and prohibitive borrowing eligibility requirements all impede farmers’ access to the liquidity necessary for investing in new, more profitable crops and technologies (International Finance Corporation, 2014). Observers have noted that a large share of long-term credit needs is not being met in Southeast Asia, despite its location near some of the world’s largest consumer markets (Shakhovskoy & Wendle, 2013). While existing financial services may be suitable for some farmers, access to finance is particularly inadequate among women, low-income groups, and ethnic minorities, and risk excluding the most vulnerable groups from these emerging economic opportunities.

Agricultural value chain finance in Indonesia

Herskowitz, Sylvan

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