| Since2003, the Central Government has introduced a series of policies for speeding up forestry development and promoting the reform of collective forest rights, which cracked institutional constraints restricting the forestry development, brought considerable opportunities for peasant household at collective forest area in our country. However, due to the inherent risks in the process of forestry production and business operation as well as our relatively backward insurance system for forest, the general foresters faced higher risk during forestry production and operation and were unable to get reasonable compensation after loss. For instance, low temperature sleet freezing disaster in2008led to serious economic losses to subject of forestry production operators, including farmers. According to incomplete statistics,19provinces including340million Mu forest have been affected by the disaster, accounting for more than10%of the total area of the national forest. Lack of insurance, the general foresters can’t get any compensation after the damage. They even can’t pay for the cleaning and reforestation. Forestry production and operation activities even their normal life were affected b a lot.Therefore, how to effectively optimize the forest insurance system, perfect the forest insurance market, reduce the economic risk of forest management industry, raise the enthusiasm of foresters engaged in forestry production and business operation, has become an important issue to promoting the development of the forestry marketization at present stage.This research focuses on development of forest insurance industry in China. Firstly, this paper make definition on forest insurance and relevant key concepts, and constract analytical framework on risk theory and forest management risk theory. Secondly, the paper makes description and evaluation on developmental history and current situation of forest insurance industry from aspects of forest insurance regulation and institution, and scale of forest insurance market. Thirdly, the paper discusses calculation model on risk probability theory, and discuss determinants on forest insurance premium. Fourthly, farm householders’risk attitudes are defined and measured, and then factros having impacts on the attitudes are quantitatively analyzed. Fifthly, three types of forest managers’ willingness to buy forest insurance are indicated, and correspondingly influential factors are determined by regression analysis, and case study. Sixthly, utility of financial subsidy on forest insurance is analyzed by employing cost-benefit theory. Finaly, policy suggestions are discussed.The research is an empirical study focusing on forest manager and forest insurance industry. One-hand data and two-hand material used in the paper are collected from field investigations in Jiangxi and Hunan province. Qualitative, quantitative and case analysis methods are jointly used in the paper. The qualitative analysis is mainly used to make definition on forest insurance, forest insurance industry, and farm householders’forest management risk attitude, and to make further analysis on purchasing willingness of farm household and utility of financial subsidy based on quantitative analysis results. Quantitative analysis methods consist of descriptive analysis method and regression analysis method. The descriptive analysis is used to describe proportion of farm household with risk-neutral, risk-averse, and risk-pursuing attitudes, and demographic characteristics, forest plots characteristics, economic situation, willingness to buy forest insurance, and evaluation of different stakeholders on forest insurance. Multiple ordered probit model is used to examine factors having impacts on farmers’risk attitudes. Bianry probit model is used to analysis farmers’ willingness to buy forest insurance. Case study method is used to study willingness to buy forest insurance of private forest firm and forestry cooperative.Main conclusions are drawn as followings. Firstly, developmental history of forest insurance industry in China can be divided into three stages. Currently, forest insurance industry is at the stage with rapid developmental speed, and corresponding institutions are kept to be strengthened. The development of forest insurance industry gains substantive support from government, while increasing importance of forestry to social economy system is dominantly driving force to develop forest insurance industry. Secondly, the forest insurance premium, which is determined by joint influences of forest value, expectance loss probability of forest, and expectance loss probability of insurance company, consists of pure insurance premium and risk premium. Thirdly, farm householders with risk-averse attitude account for41.64%to whole household sample, farm householders with risk-neutral attitude account for14.51%, farm household with risk-pursuing attitudes account for36.91%, and farm household without certain risk attitude account for6.94%. Farmers’risk attitudes are significantly affect by age of head of household, amount of self-owned labor force, number of forest plots, whether consider forest property right be secure, whether be member of forest cooperative, and amount of labor force into forest management. Fourthly,36.3%of sample household are willing to buy forest insurance, and their willingness to buy are affected significantly by amount of self-owned labor force, amount of family member in off-farm work, timber forestland area, whether consider forest property right be secure, whether be member of forest cooperative, amount of labor force into forest management, whether loss caused by disaster be serious, and whether risk be serious. Most private forest firm and forestry cooperative have willingness to buy forest insurance, and some even have bought forest insurance. Their willingness and purchasing behaviors are affected by policy factors. Fifthly, financial subsidy plays positive influence on development of forest insurance industry. If taking into account of benefit and cost of insurance company, forest manager having bought insurance, and administration department together, financial subsidy could be lack of effectiveness. Policy suggestions are put forward by the study as followings. Firstly, development of forest insurance is facilitated by financial subsidy of central, provincial and county level governments, while it should not be neglected that forest insurance has commercial property. Secondly, marketing mechanism should play dominant roles in development of forest insurance market, and government and affiliated functional department should only monitor and offer service to the development of market. Thirdly, the operational cost of forest insurance industry should be reduced by good use of marketing mechanism to improve operational efficiency. Fourthly, forest insurance products could be more diversified by improvement design mechanism of forest insurance products. Fifthly, different willingness to pay should be satisfied better by improvement pricing mechanism of forest insurance. Sixthly, forest manager can participate in forest insurance more conveniently by improvement of participatory mechanism. Seventhly, work cost of insurance company is to be reduced by improvement of disaster measuring and repayment mechanism. Eighthly, the forest insurance industry is to be promoted in healthy development mode by improvement of developmental environment. |
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