Past Event

Ray Fisman on Risky Business

Raymond Fisman will present his book Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail And What To Do About It, exploring issues such as why insurers want to know so much about us and whether we should let them obtain this information.

January 9, 2024 at 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM EST

A light lunch will be served. A limited number of books will be given away at the event.

In-Person Location: World Bank Main Complex MC13-121 | 1818 H Street NW Washington, DC

World Bank Governance Global Practice Book Talks welcomed Raymond Fisman who presented his book Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail And What To Do About It, exploring issues such as why insurers want to know so much about us and whether we should let them obtain this information.

About the Book:

An engaging and accessible examination of what ails insurance markets—and what to do about it—by three leading economists.

Why is dental insurance so crummy? Why is pet insurance so expensive? Why does your auto insurer ask for your credit score? The answer to these questions lies in understanding how insurance works. Unlike the market for other goods and services—for instance, a grocer who doesn’t care who buys the store’s broccoli or carrots—insurance providers are more careful in choosing their customers, because some are more expensive than others.

Unraveling the mysteries of insurance markets, Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, and Ray Fisman explore such issues as why insurers want to know so much about us and whether we should let them obtain this information; why insurance entrepreneurs often fail (and some tricks that may help them succeed); and whether we’d be better off with government-mandated health insurance instead of letting businesses, customers, and markets decide who gets coverage and at what price. With insurance at the center of divisive debates about privacy, equity, and the appropriate role of government, this book offers clear explanations for some of the critical business and policy issues you’ve often wondered about, as well as for others you haven’t yet considered.

Arturo Herrera Gutierrez

Arturo Herrera Gutierrez

Global Director, Governance Global Practice, World Bank

Arturo Herrera Gutierrez is the Global Director for Governance Global Practice in the Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Practice Group (EFI) Vice Presidency.

Mr. Herrera, a Mexican National, has extensive experience in governance, as a practitioner and from the development and academic perspectives. He joined the World Bank in 2010 as Senior Public Sector Management Specialist in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. He held various positions in the Bank including as Sector Manager in LAC, Practice Manager in Governance Global Practice for the LAC and East Asia and the Pacific regions in the Global Unit before leaving the World Bank Group in 2018.

Between 2018 and 2021 he has held leadership positions in the Government of Mexico as Co-Head of the Finance Team in Presidential Transition Team, Deputy Finance Minister and, most recently, as Minister of Finance and Public Credit.

As Global Director for Governance, Mr. Herrera’s priorities include leading the formulation of strategy and engagement of the Bank’s work on public institutions and country-level governance, especially in fragile, conflict and violent settings; maximizing the effectiveness of operational support for public financial management and public procurement; fostering excellence in the Governance Practice’s work on public sector administration and operational support for legal and judicial reforms.

Mr. Herrera has also taught Monetary and Banking and Macro and Micro Economics at both El Colegio de Mexico and New York University where he completed his doctoral studies in Economics.

Ray Fisman

Ray Fisman

Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics, Boston University

Ray Fisman holds the Slater Family Chair in Behavioral Economics at Boston University. Previously, he was the Lambert family professor of Social Enterprise and co-director of the Social Enterprise Program at Columbia University’s business school. Professor Fisman’s research –focused on various aspects of political economy and behavioral economics – has been published in leading economics journals including the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, and Quarterly Journal of Economics; this work has been widely covered in the popular press, in such outlets as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, the Economist, and the Washington Post. His most recent book, Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know (with political scientist Miriam Golden), was published by Oxford University Press in 2017.

Date: January 09, 2024

Time: 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM ET

Location: World Bank Main Complex MC13-121