We analyse the effect of natural catastrophes on insurance demand in a developing economy and the role of insurance regulation in this relationship. The analysis is based on a theoretical model and a panel regression using data for Vietnam. What makes Vietnam especially interesting is the fact that it is strongly affected by natural catastrophes and experienced a change in insurance regulation in recent years. The theoretical results indicate that a loss experience likely has a less positive effect on demand in developing economies than in developed economies. A higher insurance penetration and a tighter insurance regulation, however, can make the impact of a loss event more positive. These findings are mirrored by our empirical analysis: overall natural catastrophes decrease insurance demand of affected households in Vietnam. The enhancement of regulation was not only accompanied by increased insurance demand but it also reverses the effect of natural catastrophes on demand.

This paper studies the dynamic extraction problem of an exhaustible common-pool resource. We build on classical closed-economy growth models with intertemporally maximizing, infinitely lived dynasties exhibiting a constant population growth rate. Utility is obtained from periodic consumption based on the fixed-rate capital and the extraction of the resource, and from the amenity values derived from the standing resource stock. The resource contributes to both consumptive and amenity utilities, while different generations are interconnected by intergenerational altruism. Dynamic allocation of the natural resource is determined by a benevolent social planner. This allows us to examine intra-generational inequity issues in combination with the intergenerational concerns. We demonstrate how the optimal allocation of the resource depends on the population growth, wealth level, inequality, ecological vulnerability of the resource and rivalry on the amenity value. Our results highlight the trade-offs between reducing the degree of inequality and preserving the ecological values of the resource.

The so-called credibility revolution dominates empirical economics, with its promise of causal identification to improve scientific knowledge and ultimately policy. By examining the case of rural electrification in the Global South, this opinion paper exposes the limits of this evidence-based policy paradigm. The electrification literature boasts many studies using the credibility revolution toolkit, but at the same time, several systematic reviews demonstrate that the evidence is divided between very positive and muted effects. This bifurcation presents a challenge to the science-policy interface, where policymakers, lacking the resources to sift through the evidence, may be drawn to the results that serve their (agency's) interests. The interpretation is furthermore complicated by unresolved methodological debates circling around external validity as well as selective reporting and publication decisions. These features, we argue, are not particular to the electrification literature but inherent to the credibility revolution toolkit.

We examine a common pool resource (CPR) where appropriations deteriorate the quality of the resource and, thus, its impact on the exploitation of the CPR. We focus on two settings: (i) firms use the CPR without abatement efforts, and (ii) abatement is allowed. We provide comparisons between these two settings and identify socially optimal appropriation levels. We find that (i) higher quality of the CPR could induce firms to overuse the resource, and (ii) first-period appropriations with abatement decrease in the regeneration rate. However, abatement induces an overuse of the resource when the quality of the CPR improves.