Do the Poor Insure? A Synthesis of the Literature on Risk and Consumption in Developing Countries

Formal tests of perfect consumption-smoothing do not provide convincing evidence that such patterns are prevalent in village economies. Nevertheless, most individuals appear to have ap-preciable ability to mitigate income fluctuations. Policy ResearchWorkingPapers disseminatethe findings of work in progress a-id encourage the exchangeof ideas among Bank staffand allothers interested in developmentissues.Thesepapers. distibutedby the Research Advisory Staff, carry thenames ofthe authors, reflect ody theirviews, and should be used and cited accordingly. Ie findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the authora ' own. They should not be attributed to the World Bank, its Board of Directors, its management, or any of its member countries. Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz e