The Economics of Risk and Uncertainty

The Economics of Risk and Uncertainty Synopsis

This research review assesses the ground-breaking contributions to the evolution of knowledge in the economics of risk and time, from its early twentieth-century explorations to its current diversity of approaches. The analysis focuses first on the basic decisions under uncertainty, and then on asset pricing. It further discusses both classical expected utility approach and its non-expected utility generalizations, with applications to dynamic portfolio choices, insurance, risk sharing, and risk prevention. This review will be valuable for scholars in finance and macroeconomics, particularly those with an interest in the modeling foundations of consumer and investor decisions under uncertainty.