Principal Investigator Robert Townsend
As part of this project, Professor Townsend tests credit and insurance mechanisms in several villages in southern India. The Aurepalle village is characterized by low per capita income and per capita consumption, and the risk to agriculture from erratic monsoon rains is high. Of particular interest are the risk-sharing networks that exist and the more formal insurance mechanisms and how effectively these insure people in the Aurepalle village against rainfall, crop and human diseases, and sever income fluctuations.