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The global trend of transferring responsibility for dignified aging from the state to individuals is conducive to a variability of alternative attitudes and strategies. Despite having important implications for both the state and individuals, the variability of old age risk management has not been fully appreciated by social policy. Social policy cannot adapt to every individual, but it can reflect various categories of citizens and their patterns of old age risk management. In this article, we navigate the plethora of individual choices by identifying patterns of strategic behavior in old age risk management in society. Based on our data from the original 2018 survey, representative for the Czech population, we identify four distinctive strategies: risk taking, risk avoiding, risk neglecting, and risk preventing. We conclude by discussing how the data gathered and analyzed through our research may help social policy actors better understand sources of variability and design more effective policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the influence of words used in restaurant menu descriptions. Menu descriptions are typically short, communicating a great deal of information in a brief statement. Understanding the types of words that resonate most with consumers addresses a gap in menu research. Correspondingly, this study assessed how consumers process menu words to minimize ordering risk by applying a choice-based conjoint analysis approach utilizing word attributes and levels. 1500 participants were recruited to simultaneously evaluate multiple menu description variations. Findings noted that words can be classified as hedonic (emotional) or utilitarian (functional) and that utilitarian words can be further sub-categorized as experiential or descriptive. Findings support a hierarchy of word influence, and add to research literature, specifically menu design. The practical implications are that restaurateurs can improve their menu descriptions by utilizing words drawn from the most influential categories as a means of mitigating consumer anxiety. • Restaurant menus have limited space to convey the characteristics of a dish. • Customers use menu descriptions to mitigate ordering uncertainty. • Restaurant menu words can be classified as Utilitarian or Hedonic. • Utilitarian words may be further subdivided into Experiential or Descriptive. • Understanding word classifications allows restaurant operators to fine tune menus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yer bağlılığı insan, zaman, yaşanılan çevreye duyulan bağ, güven duygusu gibi etmenlerin birbirileriyle olan etkileşimi sonucu ortaya çıkmış olan bir kavramdır. Çevresel riskler yüzünden yaşadıkları çevreyi terk etmek zorunda kalan ve sonrasında duydukları bağlılıktan dolayı geri dönme isteği göstermiş insanlar üzerinde ilk araştırmalar yapılmıştır. Bu durum yer bağlılığının risk algısı üzerinde etkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Risk kavramı ise bir afet sonucunda can, mal, çevresel kayıpların meydana gelme olasılığı iken risk algısı da bu durumun sezgisel olarak değerlendirilmesidir. Genellikle çevresel tehdit oluşumunda ve hemen sonrasında ortaya çıktığı fakat zamanla azaldığı görülmektedir. Yer bağlılığı ve risk algısı arasındaki ilişki hakkında az sayıda çalışma bulunmaktadır. Scopus veri tabanının sistematik bir şekilde araştırılması sonucunda yer bağlılığı ve risk algısını doğrudan ele alan 13 adet çalışma (2004-2017) saptanmıştır. Bu araştırma sonuçlarına göre yer bağlılığı ve risk algısı arasında hem pozitif hem de negatif ilişki bulunmaktadır. Sonuçlar özellikle şunları göstermektedir: (1) risk algısı ve yer bağlılığı arasında pozitif ilişki vardır; genel olarak farklı risk türlerine maruz kalmış yer bağlılığı yüksek olan bireylerin risk algısı daha güçlüdür; (2) risk algısı ve yer bağlılığı arasında negatif ilişki vardır; yere olan bağlılık arttıkça güven duygusu da artmaktadır ve riskleri algılama seviyeleri düşmektedir; (3) yer bağlılığı ve riskle başa çıkma arasında pozitif ilişki vardır; yere olan bağlılıkları yüksek olan bireyler yaşadıkları çevreye karşı sorumluluk ve koruyucu davranışlar sergilemektedirler ve riskle başa çıkmaya da isteklidirler; (4) yer bağlılığı ve riskle başa çıkma arasında negatif ilişki vardır; güçlü bir yer bağlılığı olan bireyler çevresel riskler ile karşı karşıya kaldıklarında yer değişikliği yapmak istemezler, riskleri göz ardı ederler ve felaketten sonra riskli bölgelere dönme olasılıkları çok yüksektir. Bu çalışma ile yer bağlılığı ve risk algısı arasındaki ilişkinin daha önceden yapılan araştırmalara göre hangi faktörlerden etkilendiği ve ilişki sonuçlarının neler olduğunun belirlenmesi ile ulusal literatüre katkı sağlanması amaçlanmaktadır.

Summary This paper illustrates the sharp contrast in welfare impacts between the rich and the poor caused by typhoon Milenyo in a Philippine village. We find that fish prices dropped sharply due to the damage caused to fish pens near the village, leading to positive net welfare gains among the wealthy. In contrast, the poor do not consume much fish and thus did not gain from the sharp decline in prices. Finally, consumption reallocation played an important role as an ex post risk-coping measure, albeit only among the wealthy, who are relatively well-protected against typhoons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper introduces the special issue, “Natural Disaster, Poverty, and Development.” We examine the macro-level nexus between natural disasters and poverty, discuss prospects for formal insurance against disasters, and review the micro-development literature on informal insurance against risk. We develop a conceptual framework for microeconomic analyses on the disaster–poverty nexus, highlighting asset loss/recovery and asset-dependent private coping, disaster aid and its link with private mechanisms, and broad/persistent impacts of disasters and coping responses. We synthesize the main findings of the nine articles, revealing the critical importance of the complementarity among markets, governments, and communities for successful pro-poor disaster policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about how place attachment affects natural hazard risk perception and coping. A systematic search of social science databases revealed 31 works (1996–2016) that directly address place attachment in relation to natural hazard risk or natural environmental risks (seismic, volcanic, etc.). Across different contexts, the research shows: (a) both positive and negative relations between place attachment and natural environmental risk perception; (b) both positive and negative relations between place attachment and risk coping; and (c) mediating and moderating relations. In particular, results show that: (a) strongly attached individuals perceive natural environmental risks but underestimate their potential effects; (b) strongly attached individuals are unwilling to relocate when facing natural environmental risks and are more likely to return to risky areas after a natural environmental disaster; (c) place attachment acts both as a mediating and moderating variable between risk perception and coping. Place attachment should play a more significant role in natural hazard risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate if participation in the Indian Self Help Group (SHG) program results in reducing poverty and vulnerability. The theoretical framework examines the mechanisms through which the pecuniary and non-pecuniary effects of the SHG impacts the households’ ability to manage risk. We use a vulnerability measure that quantifies the welfare loss associated with poverty and different types of risks, on an Indian panel survey data. Our results show that SHG members are less vulnerable compared with a group of non-SHG (control) members. About 80% of the vulnerability faced by the households is poverty related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is a major cause of morbidity worldwide and first-degree relatives of breast cancer survivors have a significantly higher risk of breast cancer that can be reduced by altering controllable risk factors. This study examined protective behavioral strategies used to cope with the risk in female first-degree relatives based on descriptions of their experiences, as well as their reason(s) for choosing a particular coping strategy. A total of 25 first-degree relatives of breast cancer survivors in 13 families were recruited for this descriptive qualitative study. Data were collected between January and November 2020 through individual interviews, and a thematic analysis was performed using MAXQDA software. Three themes under an overarching theme of 'competition with breast cancer risk' were identified: (1) protective behavioral strategies for coping with breast cancer risk (four coping types); (2) barriers and facilitators for behavior change (five unfavorable and favorable factors related to the type of coping); and (3) significant determinants of coping strategy types. Based on these three themes, we developed a Personal restrictions, Exposure hazards, Adverse circumstances, Coping ability, Endorsement from social network, and Significant determinants ('PEACE-S') scale model of first-degree relatives' strategies for coping with breast cancer risk. First-degree relatives present different risk coping strategies that are shaped by individual and external factors and specific determinants. Our results provide insights that can help healthcare professionals design targeted interventions based on first-degree relatives' individual circumstances to mitigate breast cancer risk in this group through the adoption of healthy lifestyle choices. • First-degree relatives of breast cancer survivors benefit from the management of modifiable breast cancer risk factors. • First-degree relatives have four risk coping types that shaped by individual and external factors and special determinants. • A 'PEACE-S' model was established to help healthcare professionals provide targeted support to first-degree relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study uses three rounds of panel data between October 1998 and November 1999 and covering 506 villages and 24,000 households in rural Mexico, to examine how the replacement of pre-existing subsidy programs by a conditional cash transfer program such as PROGRESA (the Health, Education and Nutrition Program) affects the consumption insurance of households. The results obtained are consistent with the prevalence of formal or informal insurance arrangements aimed at protecting household consumption from fluctuations in income. Yet, total consumption, as well as food and nonfood consumption, are significantly correlated with idiosyncratic changes in income suggesting that insurance is incomplete. A comparison of the results between villages covered and not yet covered by PROGRESA (treatment versus control villages) suggests that PROGRESA did not replace or reinforce any pre-existing risk sharing among households within villages or lead to any substantial changes in how households cope with shocks. The analysis also revealed that households eligible for the PROGRESA benefits in the treatment villages were able to insulate their consumption from fluctuations in income better than their counterparts in control villages. Thus, a poverty alleviation program providing cash transfers conditioned on households investing in their human capital is associated with a reduction of household vulnerability to risk. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article, we provide selective evidence on the impact of natural and manmade disasters on household welfare. First, we consider ex ante risk management and ex post risk-coping behaviors separately, showing evidence from the Asian economic crisis, earthquakes, and tsunami disasters. Second, we differentiate idiosyncratic risks from nondiversifiable aggregate risks that characterize a disaster. We also discuss the difficulties of designing index-type insurance against natural disasters, which are often rare, unforeseen events. Then, we investigate the role of self-insurance against large-scale disasters under which formal or informal mutual insurance mechanisms are largely ineffective. Credit accessibility is identified as one of the key factors facilitating risk-coping strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost all the studies about place attachment in environmental risk contexts only consider the role of place attachment to home or local area. However, especially when it comes to risks requiring evacuation from home and local area, it is likely that place attachment to evacuation sites, if any, becomes relevant too. The present studies intend to understand how place attachment to evacuation sites affects coping behaviors in natural hazard contexts. A first study (N = 184) investigates how place attachment predicts intention to evacuate on the tsunami-prone Chilean coast. Evacuation site place attachment is found to improve intention to evacuate prediction, after controlling for the traditional cognitive antecedents of intention to evacuate. Two experimental studies subsequently test the role of evacuation site place attachment in imaginary environmental risk contexts. The second study (N = 115) finds that participants would rather go to an affectively significant evacuation site rather than to anon-affectively significant one, when asked to choose. The third study (N = 81) finds an effect of evacuation site place attachment on intention to evacuate. It is concluded that evacuation site place attachment could play a relevant role in time of evacuation Theoretical and practical implications for policy making are discussed, as well as the need for further studies. • How does place attachment to evacuation sites (EPA) affect coping to natural hazard? • Study 1 provides correlation evidence that EPA increases intention of evacuation in a real risk context. • Study 2 provides experimental evidence that EPA affects evacuation site choice. • Study 3 provided experimental evidence that EPA increases intention of evacuation. • Place attachment role in coping behaviors should be considered for theories and for policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We study the welfare and risk coping effects of crop diversity in rural Uganda. • Crop diversification increases household diet diversity and consumption. • The effect on consumption is higher for relatively poor households. • Crop diversity reduces the need for informal insurance as risk coping strategy. In the wake of climate change, there is now a resurgence of interest in the promotion of crop diversification as a climate smart agricultural practice in Sub-Saharan Africa. The development economics literature suggests that increasing crop diversity is an effective risk management and consumption smoothing strategy in a context characterized by repeated exposure to shocks but weak institutional innovations. Using panel survey data from rural Uganda merged with historical weather data, this paper sheds light on the household welfare and consumption smoothing effects of crop diversity. We employ instrumental variables methods to control for unobserved heterogeneity and potential reverse causality. Our study finds that crop diversification is a welfare enhancing strategy that increases consumption and aggregate household diets. Instrumental variables quantile regression results show that crop diversification generates higher consumption benefits for poorest households in the lower quantile of the consumption distribution than for relatively richer households. Crop diversification also improves consumption smoothing through reducing households' reliance on less effective strategies such as informal insurance and involuntary diet changes as risk coping mechanisms. Overall, the findings suggest that transforming agriculture towards a more diversified cropping system is a viable pathway for improving diets, welfare, risk management and the resilience of rural households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]