Immigration and the demand for life insurance: evidence from Canada, 1911

Abstract

This paper analyses the determinants of the demand for life insurance using sample data from the 1911 Census of Canada. We find that immigrants' demand for life insurance was on average around 13 percentage points lower than that of native-born Canadians, with the effect varying by province of settlement. We interpret these findings as evidence suggesting a greater appetite for risk among self-selecting immigrants relative to native-born Canadians. We also uncover evidence of a slow assimilation of immigrants in terms of life insurance holdings, slower indeed than the process of assimilation in terms of earnings.

Contributions to Canadian economic history: The last 30 years

“… Alan De Bromhead and Karol Borowiecki () use the new 1911 Census sample to demonstrate that immigrant assimilation was even slower with respect to the take‐up of life insurance. …”