Choices at various levels of uncertainty: An experimental test of the restated diversification theorem

Ali Ahmed () and Göran Skogh ()

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 2006, vol. 33, issue 3, 183-196

Abstract: Our “Restated diversification theorem” (Skogh and Wu, 2005) says that risk-averse agents may pool risks efficiently without assignment of subjective probabilities to outcomes, also at genuine uncertainty. It suffices that the agents presume that they face equal risks. Here, the theorem is tested in an experiment where the probability of loss, and the information about this probability, varies. The result supports our theorem. Moreover, it tentatively supports an evolutionary theory of the insurance industry—starting with mutual pooling at uncertainty, turning into insurance priced ex ante when actuarial information is available. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2006

Keywords: Loss sharing; Insurance; Risk; Ambiguity; Uncertainty; Experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1007/s11166-006-0332-0

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