Author: Doyle Ray Oakey

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

Abstract: Most approaches adopted to explain the growth of the post-industrial complex focus on "modernization" through manufacture and industrialization. Unlike the industrial revolution, however, the post-industrial age is characterized by new divisions of labor emphasizing knowledge, information dissemination, sharing, coordination and control (i.e., advanced services). Because existing theories were not developed to explain post-industrialism, they may be misleading or inapplicable. As such, the purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to ecologically contextualize the post-industrial revolution and, (2) to create an empirical and practical model useful in explaining the post-industrial revolution using global life insurance penetration as a proxy. To this end four issues are addressed. First, I assess current theory with an eye toward synthesis in order to provide a holistic explanatory context for post-industrial evolution. Second, I demonstrate how life insurance penetration acts as a proxy for post-industrial growth. Third, I outline key hypothetical drivers of post-industrial change using the life insurance industry as a springboard. Finally, I analyze a pooled, cross-sectional time series of 49 countries over ten years (1991 to 2000) giving empirical support to these hypothetical drivers of post-industrial participation. Based upon theoretical synthesis, my conjunctual ecological model posits a causal process for post-industrial growth along four dimensions: geographic/environmental, demographic, socio-organizational/economic, and cyclical/temporal. Controlling for economic development, all dimensions yield fairly robust results. Geographically, national predisposition to shipping shows a strong net positive effect; also, demographic indicators such as population dependency, death rate and female labor force participation demonstrate broad net influences on insurance penetration. Socio-organizational variables such as savings and household consumption have little predictive value, but inflation rates do show consistent negative effects on insurance penetration. The temporal influence of the US business cycle also partially determines the insurance penetration of other countries, demonstrating the economic convergence of the post-industrial world. A final proxy of the post-industrial syndrome, the percentage of GDP in services, displays a consistently positive net effects on the dependent variable. In conclusion, analysis and discussion demonstrate that a holistic theoretical approach to the post-industrial revolution is warranted. Moreover, these results have direct applicability to insurance marketing around the globe.