Risk reduction and mitigation

Disaster risk can be reduced or mitigated with policies and incentives. Our team has been examining several possibilities.

Economists usually view incentives, in particular financial incentives, as a primary way to create change, and lead to the implementation of desired risk reduction or mitigation policies. These incentives can be designed for all levels, from governments to individuals.

Behavioural economists, in contrast, identify other types of interventions that can lead to change. These can take the form of ‘nudges’ that modify the choice architecture facing individuals (for example, by switching the default choice), or can rely on other identified behavioural deviations from rational choice.

Our team investigates both of these strategies to motivate risk reduction and mitigation in various contexts.

Some examples:

• Earthquake-strengthening policy for commercial buildings in small-town New Zealand. Olga Filippova and Ilan Noy. Disasters (2019).
• Wellbeing after a managed retreat: Observations from a large New Zealand program. Thoa Hoang and Ilan Noy. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (2020).
• Disaster risk management policies and the measurement of resilience for Philippine regions. Rio Yonson and Ilan Noy. Risk Analysis (2020).
• Paying a price of climate change: Who pays for managed retreats? Ilan Noy. Current Climate Change Reports (2020).
• To leave or not to leave? Climate change, exit, and voice on a pacific island. Ilan Noy. CESifo Economic Studies (2017).