Snaebjorn Gunnsteinsson
Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, College Park.
Contact:
Email: sgunnste (at) umd.edu
Office: 2106 Symons Hall
Research:
Working Papers:
"Experimental Identification of Asymmetric Information: Theory and Evidence on Crop Insurance in the Philippines (March 2018)"
Abstract: Asymmetric information imposes costs on a wide range of markets and may explain why some important markets, such as most agricultural insurance markets, have failed to develop. It is hard to empirically identify the different dimensions of asymmetric information but doing so is crucial for improving efficiency and solving market failures. In this paper I study asymmetric information in crop insurance in the Philippines using a randomized eld experiment. Using a combination of preference elicitation, a two-level randomized allocation of insurance and detailed data collection, I test for adverse selection, moral hazard and their interaction – that is, selection on anticipated moral hazard behavior. I find that farmers behave very strategically and the data shows strong evidence of both adverse selection and moral hazard. Moral hazard is greater among those who report high trust in the insurance company. My direct tests of selection on moral hazard are inconclusive but I find that farmers prefer insurance on plots far from their home, an indirect indication that this effect is present. I conclude that information asymmetry problems are large and complex in this context and that they will be hard to overcome in a way that allows a self sustaining market.
"Resilience to Early Life Shocks: Evidence From the Interaction of a Natural Experiment and a Randomized Control Trial" (This version September 2016), with Achyuta Adhvaryu, Parul Christian, Alain Labrique, Jonathan Sugimoto, Abu Ahmed Shamim and Keith P. West, Jr.
Abstract: Can health investments engender resilience to early life shocks? We address this question by leveraging the confluence of two independent sources of variation: exposure to a large-scale natural disaster (a tornado) and randomized access to vitamin A supplementation at birth. Tornado exposure in utero and in infancy increased the frequency of fevers and decreased birth size and physical growth. But infants who received vitamin A supplementation, which boosts immune system functioning, were protected from these effects. Tornado impacts and protective effects were larger for boys. Our results provide support for wide-scale supplementation policies in disaster-prone areas of low-income countries.
Work in Progress:
Land Property Rights in the Philippines: I lead a research study on land property rights in the Philippines with Prudenciano (Dodong) Gordoncillo, of the University of the Philippines, Los Banos. This project is implemented by Innovations for Poverty Action in collaboration with the Government of the Philippines and funded by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (see project description here).
Soft-skills training of managers in Indian textile factories: I am a co-PI, with Achyuta Adhvaryu and Anant Nyshadam, on a project studying the impact of soft skills training for mid- and upper-level managers in Indian textile factories.
Impact of Children's Disabilities on Families: In this project, with Herdis Steingrimsdottir, we study the impact of having a child with a serious disability on families, including subsequent fertility, labor force participation and earnings.
Working Papers:
"Experimental Identification of Asymmetric Information: Theory and Evidence on Crop Insurance in the Philippines (March 2018)"
Abstract: Asymmetric information imposes costs on a wide range of markets and may explain why some important markets, such as most agricultural insurance markets, have failed to develop. It is hard to empirically identify the different dimensions of asymmetric information but doing so is crucial for improving efficiency and solving market failures. In this paper I study asymmetric information in crop insurance in the Philippines using a randomized eld experiment. Using a combination of preference elicitation, a two-level randomized allocation of insurance and detailed data collection, I test for adverse selection, moral hazard and their interaction – that is, selection on anticipated moral hazard behavior. I find that farmers behave very strategically and the data shows strong evidence of both adverse selection and moral hazard. Moral hazard is greater among those who report high trust in the insurance company. My direct tests of selection on moral hazard are inconclusive but I find that farmers prefer insurance on plots far from their home, an indirect indication that this effect is present. I conclude that information asymmetry problems are large and complex in this context and that they will be hard to overcome in a way that allows a self sustaining market.
"Resilience to Early Life Shocks: Evidence From the Interaction of a Natural Experiment and a Randomized Control Trial" (This version September 2016), with Achyuta Adhvaryu, Parul Christian, Alain Labrique, Jonathan Sugimoto, Abu Ahmed Shamim and Keith P. West, Jr.
Abstract: Can health investments engender resilience to early life shocks? We address this question by leveraging the confluence of two independent sources of variation: exposure to a large-scale natural disaster (a tornado) and randomized access to vitamin A supplementation at birth. Tornado exposure in utero and in infancy increased the frequency of fevers and decreased birth size and physical growth. But infants who received vitamin A supplementation, which boosts immune system functioning, were protected from these effects. Tornado impacts and protective effects were larger for boys. Our results provide support for wide-scale supplementation policies in disaster-prone areas of low-income countries.
Work in Progress:
Land Property Rights in the Philippines: I lead a research study on land property rights in the Philippines with Prudenciano (Dodong) Gordoncillo, of the University of the Philippines, Los Banos. This project is implemented by Innovations for Poverty Action in collaboration with the Government of the Philippines and funded by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (see project description here).
Soft-skills training of managers in Indian textile factories: I am a co-PI, with Achyuta Adhvaryu and Anant Nyshadam, on a project studying the impact of soft skills training for mid- and upper-level managers in Indian textile factories.
Impact of Children's Disabilities on Families: In this project, with Herdis Steingrimsdottir, we study the impact of having a child with a serious disability on families, including subsequent fertility, labor force participation and earnings.
