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Does Inefficient Risk Sharing Increase Public Self-Protection?

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  • Maddalena Ferranna

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

This paper studies how the risk of having an unequal distribution of income across the population affects the investment in a public self-protection policy, such as financial regulation or climate change mitigation. Two economies are compared. In the first economy, there is perfect risk sharing, i.e., individuals can credibly commit on a set of transfers that will remove ex-post inequalities in consumption. In the second economy, no risk sharing takes place. By referring to the literature on background risks, I determine some conditions in terms of change in risk aversion and prudence, which guarantee an increase in self-protection under inefficient risk sharing. Generally speaking, if self-protection reduces the risk of inequality, the investment tends to rise when either the probability of a catastrophic event and/or the risk of inequality are sufficiently low. If self-protection increases the risk of inequality, the investment tends to rise when both the probabilities of aggregate loss and the increase in the risk of inequality are sufficiently small.

Suggested Citation

  • Maddalena Ferranna, 2017. "Does Inefficient Risk Sharing Increase Public Self-Protection?," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Springer;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 42(1), pages 59-85, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:geneva:v:42:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1057_s10713-017-0020-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s10713-017-0020-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    self-protection; risk sharing; background risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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