Submission deadline: November 15, 2024.

Theme and objectives

Risk sharing is a crucial topic in contemporary society due to various factors, including the increasing complexity and interconnectedness of global systems, the emergence of new risks (such as longevity risk, cyber threats and climate change), and the need for sustainable risk management strategies in a rapidly changing world.

Effective risk sharing mechanisms contribute to financial stability by spreading risks across different parties and promoting resilience in the face of unexpected events. Risk sharing mechanisms can also promote social equity by ensuring that the burden of risks is distributed fairly among individuals and institutions, rather than disproportionately affecting certain groups or communities. By facilitating risk sharing, actuarial science encourages innovation and economic growth by providing businesses and individuals with the confidence to invest and take risks, knowing that there are mechanisms in place to mitigate potential losses.

In this special edition, we welcome submissions that contribute to new developments in risk sharing within actuarial science, coupled with advancements in technology and mathematical, statistical or economic modeling, to obtain more efficient, equitable, and resilient risk management practices in contemporary society.

We welcome contributions that deal with some fundamental issues in risk sharing such as:

• Economics of risk sharing and insurance: New economic models for risk sharing and (re)insurance mechanisms, especially in connection to decision theory, game theory and contract theory, will enhance understanding of risk sharing markets and methodologies in sophisticated and advanced settings that are practically more realistic than traditional models.
• Mathematics and data science of risk sharing: Novel mathematical and statistical tools are needed to address challenging problems in risk sharing that emerge as the field quickly develops.
• Model uncertainty in risk sharing: In real world, risk sharing decisions are often made under uncertain circumstances, leading to the need of quantifying and understanding uncertainty arising from lack of data, model misspecification, computational limitations, or behavioral issues. Risk sharing models and mechanisms handling uncertainty in the decision-making process are useful tools in such a context. 

 We also welcome contributions that are of a more applied nature, dealing with applications and technological innovations.  

• Alternative risk transfer: Alternative risk transfer mechanisms, such as catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked and longevity-linked securities, enable investors to directly participate in bearing certain risks previously assumed solely by insurance companies.
• Parametric insurance: This approach involves predefined triggers for payouts based on specific parameters, such as weather conditions or economic indicators. Parametric insurance can provide faster payouts compared to traditional insurance, reducing the financial impact of disasters and facilitating risk sharing among different stakeholders.
• Innovative retirement products focusing on longevity risk sharing: These products aim to address the challenge of outliving one's savings by spreading longevity risk among a pool of participants. They are  becoming increasingly relevant as populations age, life expectancies rise, and governments face budgetary constraints.
• Blockchain Technology: Blockchain technology offers opportunities to enhance risk sharing processes by providing transparent records of transactions. Smart contracts built on blockchain platforms can automate the risk sharing process.

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/astin. See the preparing your article for submission section of the Instructions for Authors for more details. Please select the 'Risk Sharing' option when prompted by the question about whether you are submitting to a special issue.

The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2024. All submissions that pass the pre-check stage will undergo peer review. The special issue is targeted to be published in September 2025.

Editors

• An Chen, Ulm University
• Steven Vanduffel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
• Ruodu Wang, University of Waterloo