Tse-Ling Teh awarded prestigious Ernst Meyer Prize

Tse-Ling Teh, a Research Officer at the Grantham Research Institute has been awarded the prestigious Ernst Meyer Prize for her dissertation “Governing Uncertainty: Financial Policies for Risk”. The prize is awarded annually by The Geneva Association for a doctoral thesis which makes a significant and original contribution to the study of risk and insurance economics. This year’s prize was jointly awarded jointly to Tse-Ling Teh and to Maddalena Ferrana for her Toulouse School of Economics PhD, “Three Essays on the Decision Making under Risk and Equity Concerns”.

Abstract of Tse-Ling Teh’s dissertation:

Governing Uncertainty: Financial Policies for Risk
Uncertainty is an unseen force that underlies many aspects of human behavior and society. Risk provides one measure to rationalize this uncertainty and build it into our decision making. Unconventional risks, such as natural disasters, require particular attention because of the obstacles in insurance design and demand. My dissertation tackles three obstacles to demand: the availability of free insurance or assistance, exposure to moral hazard and adverse selection, and the inherent rarity and little experience of rare risk classes. Using economic theory, I address how and why insurance fails and how insurance demand can be lifted with alternative contract design. My findings contribute theoretical explanations and contract structures that are novel and overcome existing obstacles to insurance demand whilst providing welfare benefits to society.