Livelihood Shocks and Coping Strategies: An Empirical Study of Bangladesh Households

Households plan strategically for facing risks associated with livelihood security. Choosing a particular set of coping strategies depends on a number of factors including the types of crisis households face and options available. Often, poor households risk future income generating capacity for maintaining current food consumption. This paper examines strategies used by rural households for coping with the shocks and investigates whether there is any distinctive pattern in adopting these strategies. Using a cross section data set covering 1600 households from the northwestern Bangladesh, we estimate a trivariate probit model for explaining the adoption of coping strategies. Results indicate that choice of coping strategies depend on diversity and stability of household income sources. Households with higher education have greater access to stable incomes sources and have more income sources, and so are less likely to adopt ex-post coping strategies. Households with more assets are more likely to divest assets or obtain secured loans rather than rely on unsecured loans. Wealthier households are not less likely to adopt current adjustment strategies, suggesting that there is a general sequence of coping strategies that all households follow, irrespective of the assets they own.Consumer/Household Economics,

Climate change-related risks and adaptation potential in Central and South America during the 21st century

Climate-related risks in Central and South America have received increased attention and concern in science and policy, but an up-to-date comprehensive review and synthesis of risks and adaptation potential is currently missing. For this paper we evaluated over 200 peer-reviewed articles and grey literature documents published since 2012. We found that climate change in Central and South America during the 21st century may increase the risk to severe levels for the following topical risk clusters: (a) Food insecurity; (b) Floods and landslides; (c) Water scarcity; (d) Epidemics of vector-borne diseases; (e) Amazon Forest biome shift; (f). Coral bleaching; (g) Coastal risks of sea level rise, storm surges and erosion; (h) Systemic failure due to cascading impacts of hazards and epidemics. Our synthesis also identified feasible adaptation measures for each risk. The impacts of the risks will be heterogeneous throughout the region, with rural communities, Indigenous peoples, Afro-Latin Americans, women, disabled people, and migrants identified as being the most severely affected. We refer to a number of adaptation options for each risk. However, unabated climate change together with low adaptive capacity will strictly limit adaptation options. Immediate strengthening of policies for building adaptive capacity and increase of research on the risk-adaptation nexus in Central and South America are paramount. Our findings might contribute to guide the adjustment and emphasis of adaptation policies and climate risk management strategies from local to national level

Medicaid's Role in the Health Benefits Exchange: A Road Map for States

Examines issues for integrating Medicaid into the administration, operation, and coverage continuum of insurance exchanges. Discusses eligibility, enrollment, and outreach; contracting, standards, and requirements; benefits design; and infrastructure

Risk Adjustment Under the Affordable Care Act: A Guide for Federal and State Regulators

Summarizes discussions from a conference about the consequences of the 2010 healthcare reform's risk adjustment provisions, design and implementation challenges, and the merits of various risk adjustment strategies. Recommends diagnostic risk measures

How EU trade policy can enhance climate action Options to boost low-carbon investment and address carbon leakage. CEPS Policy Priorities for 2019-2024, 23 September 2019

In her Political Guidelines, Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen sets climate neutrality as one of the central objectives of a proposed European Green Deal. EU member states are now discussing whether to formally agree on an objective for climate neutrality in 2050. Some have already set deadlines – Finland as early as 2035. This has triggered reflection on the adequate policy mix, notably with a view to making a business case for low-carbon innovation and investment while addressing carbon leakage. The Commission President-elect thinks that this will require a carbon border tax. To address the strategic need for a robust EU framework for low-carbon investment, we recommend that the European Commission i) investigates the economic, legal, and administrative viability and implementation timeline of carbon price adjustments at the border, ii) examines the possibility to extend the EU Emissions Trading System to include consumption of carbon intensive materials and iii) explores the potential of product standards to achieve the same aim. All these approaches have different advantages and shortcomings in terms of political acceptability, effectiveness and implications for the world trade system. To support partner countries in advancing climate action, both bilateral and multilateral measures should be prepared

Global and Episodic Bundling: An Overview and Considerations for Medicaid

Examines implementation issues for two payment strategies under which a group of providers receives a single payment per patient for a predefined time period for a predefined set of services and which involve risk adjustment and quality measurement

The Role of Exchanges in Quality Improvement

Explores state options and considerations for driving healthcare quality improvement and delivery system reform at the plan and provider levels through insurance exchanges, including the need to involve all stakeholders in developing and executing policy

Climate Change Management Strategies to Handle and Cope with Extreme Weather and Climate Events

Increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases causes rising in globalwarming and carbon dioxide emissions. With further efforts to reducecarbon dioxide, it is possible to prevent the warming of the earth, but theeffects of climate change that we have already created can not be reduced.Recent observed and predicted alterations in the global climate require adouble policy to react to the decline in climate alteration and its adjustment (coexistence) to explain the key factors and their effects. Measuresto reduce climate alteration through decreasing greenhouse gas releasesor removing them from the atmosphere are possible. Execution of morereduction measures at the present time will require less adaptation in thefuture. Meanwhile, inadequate measures to curb climate change presentlyincrease the risk of catastrophic consequences, so that adjustment costs willrise unreasonably and adaptive capacity will face further constraints. Climate change adaptation measures concentrate in increasing our capabilityto deal with or prevent damaging effects or the use of new circumstances.Increasing temperature and changes visible today due to climate changemean that adaptation strategies should be applied. In this paper, strategiesfor reducing climate change and adaptation are reviewed and various strategies are presented. Meanwhile, this paper looks at the economies affected by climate change, our involvement to climate alteration, and the ways in which the economy has influenced climate change and the ways in which it can provide logical options

The CFO’s Information Challenge in Managing Macroeconomic Risk

In this chapter we examine the role of the CFO in setting risk management strategy with respect to macroeconomic risk, in particular, and we consider the information requirements for setting a strategy that is consistent with corporate objectives. We argue that macroeconomic risk management requires a broad approach encompassing financial, operational and strategic considerations. Furthermore, several interdependent sources of risk in the macroeconomic environment must be taken into account. Once this interdependence among, for example, exchange rates, interest rates and inflation are taken into account macroeconomic risk management can be considered a relatively self-contained aspect of Integrated Risk Management (IRM) provided relevant information is available to management. Financial risk management cannot be considered a self-contained part of macroeconomic risk management, however, since value increasing investments in flexibility of business operations affect corporate exposure and make it uncertain.Risk Management Strategy; Macroeconomic Risk; Integrated Risk Management; Chief Financial Officer; Information Needs; Corporate Strategy; Financial Risk; Real Options