Eyes on the storm

The World Bank is busily marketing derivatives to governments to hedge them against major risks to their economies such as catastrophic weather. Is this a viable option for emerging market economies? By Alexander Campbell

risk-1107-33-gif

For most of the world's population, risk is not merely a financial concept. Catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, earthquakes or drought, can not only bring monetary damage, but hunger, disease and death - and can even shake the foundations of national governments. Global climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, which will inevitably hit the poor countries of the tropics hardest.

Storms such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 make the headlines because of their

Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.

To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe

You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.

Sorry, our subscription options are not loading right now

Please try again later. Get in touch with our customer services team if this issue persists.

New to Risk.net? View our subscription options

Most read articles loading...

You need to sign in to use this feature. If you don’t have a Risk.net account, please register for a trial.

Sign in
You are currently on corporate access.

To use this feature you will need an individual account. If you have one already please sign in.

Sign in.

Alternatively you can request an individual account here