The Geneva Association and Risk Economics The Geneva Association The
Geneva Association (International Association for the Study of Insurance
Economics) commenced its activities in June 1973, on the initiative of
twenty-two members in eight European countries. It now has fifty-four
members in sixteen countries in Europe and in the United States. The
members of the association are insurance companies which provide
financial support for its activities. The aims and strategy of the
Geneva Association were clearly defined in 1971 by the founding
committee. They were set forth in the first report to the Assembly of
Members in 1974: "To make an original contribution to the progress of
insurance by objective studies on the interdependence between economics
and insurance." In pursuit of this objective, the Association strives to
place insurance problems in the context of the modern economy and to
overcome the antagonism between different groups and institutions by
showing that they all have a common interest in tackling the problem of
risk in a changing world. In consequence, the studies made by the
Association had to move away from the subjects familiar to insurance
professionals and explore related fields, dealing with opinions and
behavior falling outside the profession's vii FOREWORD viii traditional
framework of analysis. It is in this direction that the Association's
preoccupations have been directed from the beginning, towards areas in
which insurance activities come into contact with those of other
economic sectors such as government, banking, manufacturing, and
households.