Mixed insurance reduces risk and increases social earnings, study finds.
Agricultural insurance can be compulsory (required by the government) or voluntary (chosen by individuals). A study compared these types of insurance using an online experiment. They found that purely voluntary insurance had adverse selection, while mixed insurance had advantageous selection. Moral hazard, where people take more risks because they are insured, was present in all types of insurance but was lower in mixed insurance. Compulsory insurance had the lowest social earnings due to significant moral hazard and no adverse selection. However, compulsory insurance did not reduce voluntary purchases in mixed insurance.