Research on business diversification and corporate value in times of financial crisis in Vietnam

Abstract

This study provides new evidence on the impact of health insurance coverage on household vulnerability using Vietnam Access to Resources Household Surveys (VARHS) during 2010-2012. The outcomes of interest are the probability of falling into poverty (VEP) and the magnitude of utility loss (VEU). Since the data set is not from an intervention program, the propensity score- matching method is employed to construct treatment and control groups. Risk aversion is calculated and used as an important explanatory variable for health insurance enrollment. The estimates show that health insurance coverage helps rural households in Vietnam reduce the idiosyncratic component of utility loss by 81 per cent and has the added bene t of reducing the probability of being poor by about 19 per cent. The reverse effect of the risk aversion on health insurance enrollment implies not only a potential `rigidity' effect on health insurance demand but also defficiencies in health insurance market. The study suggests practical implications for the government to attain its goal of universal health insurance coverage.