Risk Preferences and the Impact of Credit and Insurance on Farm Technology Uptake
We use a series of credit and insurance simulation games to test the role of access to credit and insurance on magnitude and timing of farm technology uptake with small-scale farmers in South Africa. Using Cumulative Prospect Theory, we assess how insurance impacts technology uptake given risk preferences. Our findings suggest that risk aversion is […]
Information Contagion and Systemic Risk
We examine the effect of ex-post information contagion on the ex-ante optimal portfolio choices of banks and the welfare losses due to joint default. Because of counterparty risk and common exposures, bad news about one bank reveals valuable information about another bank, thereby triggering information contagion. Systemic risk is defined as the ex-ante probability of […]
Effects of Social Norms on Multiple Partnerships: Evidence from Young Adults in the Metropolitan Communities of Cape Town, South Africa
Even though antiretroviral treatment is becoming more efficient and available, new HIV infections still occur. This is particularly the case in sub-Saharan Africa. Sexual transmission of HIV is still the main mode of transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, and multiple sex partners have been shown to be crucial for the spread of the epidemic. It is […]
‘Know Your Epidemic’: The Effects of Expected Health and Contextual Health Uncertainty on Risky Sex
This study measures the link between expected health and contextual health uncertainty on sexual behaviours associated with the risk of HIV infection. We extend similar studies on the subject by focusing on contextual factors as a way of explaining individual sexual behaviour in low and high HIV infection areas across sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, we find […]
Deriving a theoretically defensible measure of risk
According to economic theory, risk is a central consideration in financial decision-making. In practice, though, it is difficult to quantify the uncertainty faced by investors, particularly if the aim is to present a risk measure that is consistent with economic theory, is objective and can be replicated.
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