Guidelines for Coping with Natural Disasters and Climatic Change

This paper presents a conceptual framework for evaluating alternative programs which deal with natural hazards and weather-related risks. The framework stresses the importance of integrating descriptive or behavioral analysis with prescriptive measures. In particular, there is a need to understand the institutional arrangements and decision processes of the interested parties as a prelude to formulating and evaluating alternative plans. Empirical evidence on the decision processes associated with the purchase of disaster insurance suggests ways of linking descriptive and prescriptive analysis for dealing with natural hazards. A parallel type of analysis is undertaken for evaluating what action, if any, should be taken with respect to the manufacturing of aerosol spray cans which use chlorofluorocarbons, given that this substance destroys ozone in the atmosphere