| Abstract: | Cross‐country studies of insurance find little support for a hypothesized urbanization–insurance consumption link. Unlike the literature, we argue and find that the relationship is positive. Our study refines the literature relating economic development and financial service activities. The empirical evidence in the existing literature is based on cross‐country samples that are criticized as unrepresentative because they are disproportionately composed of highly developed economies and consequently have limited range in the variables considered; this limits confidence in the resulting evidence. The current study overcomes these empirical difficulties by focusing on one large country with a unique recent development pattern. Like the existing studies, we find a positive insurance–economic development link. In contrast to cross‐country studies, we find that insurance consumption is influenced by urbanization and that the country's World Trade Organization entry had a differential impact on its insurance markets. |
