The Economics of Risk

Introductory chapter | Table of Contents

Risk surrounds us and affects us daily. It is an inescapable part of our lives. While economists generally assume that most people are risk averse (i.e., they attempt to reduce risk through activities such as purchasing insurance, diversifying portfolios, and eating oatmeal daily), it is clear that others are attracted to risky behaviors such as gambling and skydiving. Because risk is such an integral part of our lives and because it is viewed differently by different people, its study has burgeoned in recent years as scholars seek ways to understand and manage it both at the individual level and in the markets in which it exists.

This collection offers an economics-based overview of the various facets of risk. It contains six papers that examine a broad array of research relating to risk. Two papers examine risk management and its application to decision making as well as what researchers have learned over the past few decades in their theoretical investigations of risk. The remaining chapters examine how risk plays out in the particular markets in which it has a significant presence, including casino gambling enterprises, agricultural markets, auctions, and health insurance. Included are:

• Introduction, Donald J. Meyer, Western Michigan University
• Risk and Risk Management, Keith J. Crocker, University of Michigan Business School
• States of the World and the State of Decision Theory, Mark J. Machina, University of California, San Diego
• Gambling with the Future, William R. Eadington, University of Nevada, Reno
• Common Value Auctions and the Winner's Curse, John H. Kagel, The Ohio State University
• Sharing Very High Risks, Katherine Swartz, Harvard School of Public Health
• Risk and Agriculture, Rulon D. Pope, Brigham Young University

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