Larger informal insurance groups need not provide better insurance in low-income settings. That is the conclusion of a study by Bansi Malde (School of Economics), Emla Fitzsimons (UCL and IFS) and Marcos Vera-Hernandez (UCL and IFS), published in the July 2018 issue of the Economic Journal. Their research indicates that in the event of a crop loss in rural Malawi, women with a large number of brothers fare considerably worse than those with fewer brothers.
Full details of the findings of this research were highlighted in the Royal Economic Society’s Media Briefings in July 2018: http://www.res.org.uk/details/mediabrief/11079066/INFORMAL-INSURANCE-IN-POOR-COUNTRIES-Evidence-from-Malawi-of-the-downside-of-hav.html