Community-based health insurance and social capital: a review

Hermann Pythagore Pierre Donfouet (1) , Pierre-Alexandre Mahieu (2)

1 CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management
2 LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique

Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) is an emerging concept for providing financial protection against the cost of illness and improving access to quality health services for low-income rural households who are excluded from formal insurance. CBHI is currently being provided in some rural areas in developing countries and there is ongoing research about its impact on the well-being of the poor in these areas. However, the success of CBHI revolves around the existence of social capital in the community. This has led researchers to explore the impact of CBHI on the well-being of the poor in rural areas, especially as it relates to social capital. The overall objective of this paper is to review recent developments that address the link between CBHI and social capital. Policy implications are also discussed.

Mots clés: Community-based health insurance; social capital; rural areas

Mots clés: C10; I15

Domaines: Economies et finances

Hermann Pythagore Pierre Donfouet, Pierre-Alexandre Mahieu. Community-based health insurance and social capital: a review. Health Economics Review, 2012, 2 (5), pp.2-5. ⟨10.1186/2191-1991-2-5⟩. ⟨halshs-00738176⟩