Exploring the feasibility of private micro flood insurance provision in Bangladesh

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on the feasibility of the provision of micro flood insurance as an effective tool for spreading disaster risks in developing countries and examines the role of the institutional-organisational framework in assisting the design and implementation of such a micro flood insurance market. In Bangladesh, a private insurance market for property damage and livelihood risk due to natural disasters does not exist. Private insurance companies are reluctant to embark on an evidently unprofitable venture. Testing two different institutional-organisational models, this research reveals that the administration costs of micro-insurance play an important part in determining the long-term viability of micro flood insurance schemes. A government-facilitated process to overcome the differences observed in this study between the nonprofit micro-credit providers and profit-oriented private insurance companies is needed, building on the particular competence each party brings to the development of a viable micro flood insurance market through a public-private partnership.     

公共支出减损巨灾影响的理论与政策研究——兼谈促进巨灾保险事业发展的财政政策

近几十年来,随着经济的发展和人口的增加,全球自然灾害越来越频繁,也越来越严重,人为导致的突发事件造成的损害也越来越大。对此,从理论上探讨了巨灾出现的经济影响,并从实际出发分析了巨灾造成的社会损失。在此基础上,从公共财政的角度提出了减灾的财税政策,及促进巨灾保险事业发展的财税措施。     

完善环境政策体系 控制环境污染形势

目前,我国总体环境形势可概括为：局部地区和行业的部分环境指标有所改善,环境恶化状况未得到根本遏制,环境形势依然十分严峻,未来的环境压力将继续加大。要想从根本上解决问题,就必须从实际出发,加强应对污染事故的机制建设,建立环境保护长效机制。其中,极为重要的一环是完善环境政策、法规、标准、制度体系。     

Remodelling reparation: changes in the compensation of victims of natural catastrophes in Belgium and the Netherlands

The paper presents a comparative analysis of the development and present state of compensation for victims of catastrophes in Belgium and the Netherlands. These two neighbouring countries have both seen legislative changes in this field in recent years, albeit with different outcomes. The paper thus analyses to what extent the two compensation scheme structures allow for conclusions as to the comparative benefits of a comprehensive insurance scheme for natural disasters. From the perspective of law and economics, the evolution of private insurance and public intervention through compensation funds, the preference for private or public solutions and the actual financing of these are examined. Drawing on practical experience, such as the case of flood risks, the solutions are tested in view of incentive-based financing. The paper concludes that the private insurance market is more developed in Belgium than it is in the Netherlands, where the reform process has not yet ended.     

Combining payment for crop damages and reward for productivity to address wildlife conflict

Conflict caused by wild herbivores damaging crops is an almost universal problem in conservation. We designed and implemented a game-theory-based system for supporting farmers whose crops were being heavily damaged by wild herbivores. In this community-operated system, farmers self-report their production, which is endorsed by neighboring farmers. The average deficit in production is compensated for by a payment that is directly proportional to the average deficit in production of the group and to the individual farmer's productivity. As a result, farmers are compensated for the average damage (support) and rewarded for individual productivity (reward) (i.e., support cum reward [SuR]). The design of the game is such that only honest reporting gives maximum returns. Farmers who underreport receive less payment because the SuR amount is proportionate to their self-reported productivity. The endorsing farmers, in their own self-interest, prevent overreporting. The system involves multiple game situations, the combined result of which is a stable strategy based on honesty and hard work. In 2 villages along the western boundary of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in central India, we tested the system with 75 farmers over 6 crop seasons. After a few initial attempts to cheat, honesty prevailed throughout the group. Average crop productivity increased 2.5-fold, in spite of damage, owing to increased effort by farmers. Apart from wildlife conflict resolution, the model offers a promising alternative to crop insurance and a potential behavioral green revolution in agriculture.     

Integrating high resolution soil data into federal crop insurance policy: Implications for policy and conservation

Well-designed and executed policies are critical for aligning sustainability incentives and enabling future agricultural productivity growth. In the U.S., government-administered crop insurance is the primary direct mechanism through which agriculture is subsidized and represents over $100 billion in liabilities annually. Despite the importance of soil properties in determining crop yield formation and risk, the Government does not consider any soil information in generating premium rates under the Federal Crop Insurance Program. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of integrating high-resolution soil data into modeling of field-level insurance rates in large-scale applications. Here, using the actual distribution of soil quality across crop fields in a high production region, models are developed to incorporate soil data into insurance rates and then evaluated to investigate the magnitude of risk differentials across different soil qualities. These soil-conditioned results were then compared to rates that would have been generated by the Government’s current soil-naïve methodology. This study indicates that the degree to which soils vary within a county is highly significant, leading to rating errors of 200% or greater. Implications of ignoring soil information and operational considerations of modifying this cornerstone program are discussed.     

工伤保险风险分类及风险分类表研究

以风险理论为基础,笔者对工伤保险费率确定中风险分类的作用、分类的原则,风险分类表的定义、组成及其制定规则进行了研究,并将风险分类表分为3类,即行业风险分类表、行为风险分类表和混合风险分类表,目前许多发达国家多采用第三种类型。对建立风险分类表的相关因素进行了分析,在此基础上对我国工伤保险分类表的建立与完善提出一些建议。例如,针对制定风险分类表的规则;风险类目要不断修正;我国工伤保险分类表比较粗略,缺乏一定的科学依据,不符合风险分类的促进事故预防和损失控制的基本原则,提出最好能考虑使用“混合风险分类表”,对企业中特殊岗位采用一个或多个分类号。     

环境污染防治的经济刺激机制研究——以环境污染责任保险制度为例

环境污染防治工作应从市场入手,综合运用多种经济刺激机制.环境污染责任保险是典型的经济刺激手段,通过成本——收益的方式调动企业自主防污积极性,并为污染防治提供制度保障.通过比较分析,相较于其他经济刺激手段环境污染责任保险具有成本低、刺激性强、市场广、秩序性强等优势.应推行强制保险为主、自愿保险为辅的投保模式,扩大投保基数;合理设定赔偿限额;实行差别保险费率.     

发达国家环境健康损害赔偿模式对中国的启示

随着经济的发展,中国环境污染事故也到了一个高发期.如何构建适合中国国情的健康损害赔偿保障体系,对贯彻落实环保法的污染责任险至关重要.分析了发达国家现有公害病的补偿资金来源与形式,将其分为环境责任险、环境赔偿基金、环境税收、社会捐赠等,并对以上健康损害赔偿模式是否适用于中国进行了分析.研究发现,相比于发达国家,中国目前尚未建立完整的环境污染导致健康损害赔偿的经济保障体系.虽然中国在环境责任险领域已有一定的基础,但真正涉及健康损害的责任险工作却十分薄弱,其它健康损害赔偿的经济保障措施,如用于支付健康损害的环境税收体系、环境赔偿基金、社会捐赠体系等尚不完善.借鉴发达国家的经验,就中国现阶段亟待开展的健康损害赔偿模式进行剖析,以期为探索适用于中国的健康损害赔偿保障体系提供参考.     

水闸运行风险对策探讨

我国20世纪修建的大量水闸为我国经济建设的高速发展作出了巨大的贡献,但由于各种自然因素和人为因素的影响,存在各种隐患。本文通过具体的案例,分析研究了水闸安全运行的主要风险,从风险管理角度探讨了有效规避风险的对策,并针对水闸实际状况提出相应的风险转嫁措施。