The Taste for Bequests and Well-Being of Widows: A Model of Life Insurance Demand by Married Couples.

A-Tier
Journal: Review of Economics and Statistics
Year: 1989
Volume: 71
Issue: 2
Pages: 206-14

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

For married couples with some insurance on the husbands, the annuitized consumptions of widows of older husbands is found to be higher, on average, than if their husbands had lived. Given the age of the husband, younger widows are relatively worse-off. In the context of life insurance demand, this paper models the decision about how well-off to leave a surviving spouse relative to her situation had both spouses lived. The parameters of the model are estimated from estate and income tax data for a Wisconsin sample of married couples where the husband predeceased the wife. Copyright 1989 by MIT Press.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:tpr:restat:v:71:y:1989:i:2:p:206-14
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25