TY - JOUR
T1 - Design principles for risk-pooling systems
AU - Cronk, Lee
AU - Aktipis, Athena
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was conducted as part of The Human Generosity Project (http:// humangenerosity.org), which has received support from the National Science Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, Arizona State University, Rutgers University’s Center for Human Evolutionary Studies and the American Center for Mongolian Studies. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, Springer Nature Limited.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - In times of crisis, risk pooling can enhance the resilience of individuals, households and communities. Risk-pooling systems are most effective when their participants adhere to several principles: (1) participants should agree that the pool is for needs that arise unpredictably, not for routine, predictable needs; (2) giving to those in need should not create an obligation for them to repay; (3) participants should not be expected to help others until they have taken care of their own needs; (4) participants should have a consensus about what constitutes need; (5) resources should be either naturally visible or made visible to reduce cheating; (6) individuals should be able to decide which partners to accept; and (7) the scale of the network should be large enough to cover the scale of risks. We discuss the cultural and evolutionary foundations of risk-pooling systems, their vulnerabilities and their relationship to commercial insurance.
AB - In times of crisis, risk pooling can enhance the resilience of individuals, households and communities. Risk-pooling systems are most effective when their participants adhere to several principles: (1) participants should agree that the pool is for needs that arise unpredictably, not for routine, predictable needs; (2) giving to those in need should not create an obligation for them to repay; (3) participants should not be expected to help others until they have taken care of their own needs; (4) participants should have a consensus about what constitutes need; (5) resources should be either naturally visible or made visible to reduce cheating; (6) individuals should be able to decide which partners to accept; and (7) the scale of the network should be large enough to cover the scale of risks. We discuss the cultural and evolutionary foundations of risk-pooling systems, their vulnerabilities and their relationship to commercial insurance.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41562-021-01121-9
DO - 10.1038/s41562-021-01121-9
M3 - Review article
C2 - 34045721
AN - SCOPUS:85106702533
SN - 2397-3374
VL - 5
SP - 825
EP - 833
JO - Nature Human Behaviour
JF - Nature Human Behaviour
IS - 7
ER -