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Catastrophe Aversion and Risk Equity in an Interdependent World

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  • Bernard, Carole
  • Rheinberger, Christoph
  • Treich, Nicolas

Abstract

Catastrophe aversion and risk equity are important concepts both in risk management theory and practice. Ralph Keeney (1980) was the first to formally define these concepts. He demonstrated that the two concepts are always in con ict. Yet his result is based on the assumption that individual risks are independent. It has therefore limited relevance for real-world catastrophic events. We extend Keeney's result to dependent risks and derive the conditions under which more equity and more correlation between two risks imply a more catastrophic situation. We then generalize some of the results for multiple correlated risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernard, Carole & Rheinberger, Christoph & Treich, Nicolas, 2017. "Catastrophe Aversion and Risk Equity in an Interdependent World," IDEI Working Papers 872, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    • Handle: RePEc:ide:wpaper:31745
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. James K. Hammitt, 2020. "Valuing mortality risk in the time of COVID-19," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 129-154, October.
    2. Al-Najjar, Nabil I. & Pomatto, Luciano, 2020. "Aggregate risk and the Pareto principle," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    3. Hammitt, James K. & Treich, Nicolas, 2021. "Fatality Risk Regulation," TSE Working Papers 21-1177, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    4. Emmanuel Kemel & Corina Paraschiv, 2018. "Deciding about human lives: an experimental measure of risk attitudes under prospect theory," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 51(1), pages 163-192, June.
    5. Christoph M. Rheinberger & Nicolas Treich, 2017. "Attitudes Toward Catastrophe," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 67(3), pages 609-636, July.
    6. Bernard, C. & De Gennaro Aquino, L. & Vanduffel, S., 2023. "Optimal multivariate financial decision making," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 307(1), pages 468-483.

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    Keywords

    risk equity; catastrophe aversion; correlation; dependence structure;
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