Racial Differences in the Demand for Life Insurance |
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| Authors: | Michael S Gutter Charles B Hatcher† |
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| Institution: | Michael S. Gutter is an assistant professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, University of Florida, 3002-C McCarty Hall D, PO Box 110310, FL e-mail:;. Charles B. Hatcher is an assistant professor, Department of Consumer Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1300 Linden Drive, WI e-mail: . |
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| Abstract: | The objective of this article is to measure racial differences in the proportion of human capital that households protect with life insurance. Using the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances data, racial differences in two stages of the process are tested, where it is assumed that households must decide both whether or not to purchase life insurance and how much of their human capital to insure (if they decide to purchase). Among married and cohabitating households, we find that, controlling for demographics and other factors, there is little difference in life insurance ownership between black and white households but that white households insure a larger proportion of their human capital than black households. |
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