The Relationship of Insurance and Economic Growth - A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis

56 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2007 Last revised: 19 Jan 2011

See all articles by Peter R. Haiss

Peter R. Haiss

WU Vienna University of Economics and Business; UniCredit Bank Austria; IES Vienna - Institute for the International Education of Students

Kjell Sümegi

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: January 3, 2007

Abstract

The role of insurance companies, although growing in importance in financial intermediation, has received less attention than bank and stock markets and if so, mainly as a provider of risk transfer in single country or very heterogeneous samples. We investigate both the impact of insurance investment and premiums on GDP growth in Europe. We conduct a cross-country panel data analysis from 1992 to 2005 for 29 European countries. We find a positive impact of life insurance on GDP growth in the EU-15 countries, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. For the New EU Member States from Central and Eastern Europe, we find a larger impact for liability insurance. Furthermore our findings emphasise the impact of the real interest rate and the level of economic development on the insurance-growth nexus. We argue that the insurance sector needs to be paid more attention in financial sector analysis and macroeconomic policy.

Keywords: Insurance, financial intermediation, economic growth, finance-growth-nexus

JEL Classification: E44, G22, O11, O16

Suggested Citation

Haiss, Peter R. and Sümegi, Kjell, The Relationship of Insurance and Economic Growth - A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis (January 3, 2007). Emprica, Journal of Applied Economics and Economic Policy, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 405-431, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=968243

Peter R. Haiss

WU Vienna University of Economics and Business ( email )

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Kjell Sümegi (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

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