I revisit the question of which motive underlies insurance demand. I draw on the literature of state-dependent utility … and on the literature of imperfectly divisible consumption to argue that the general purpose of insurance is not a risk … transfer, but meeting a conditional need. In this way, insurance aligns the risk in one's ftnancial endowment with the risk in …

In this paper we analyze insurance demand when the utility function depends both upon final wealth and the level of … documented in real insurance markets. …

others. Relatively more risk-averse people buy insurance against aggregate risk, and relatively less risk-averse people sell … insurance. These trades reduce the welfare cost of business cycles for everyone. Indeed, the least risk-averse people benefit … small welfare losses. In other words, when there are complete insurance markets, aggregate fluctuations in consumption are …

Biodiversity provides insurance against the uncertain provision of ecosystem services which are being used by risk … study decision-making under uncertainty. In this framework I (1) determine the insurance value of biodiversity, (2) study … financial insurance, and (3) analyze the effect of different institutional regimes in the market for financial insurance on …