Economics of Insurance

K.BORCHt
Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration,Bergen, Norway

Edited and Completed after Professor Borch's Death by Knut ê. AASE and Agnar SANDMO
Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration,Bergen, Norway

PREFACE

When Karl Borch died in December, 1986, he was working on the manuscript of a textbook on the economic theory of insurance, the area which had been his main interest throughout his academic career. The manuscript had not been finished; we know that he planned to add at least one additional chapter, and it may well be that he would have expanded on the chapters which had already been written. But even in its unfinished form the manuscript does give a very readable and fascinating overview of the field to wich Borch made so many pioneering contributions since his first publications around 1960. We have therefore decided to publish these chapters more or less in the form in which they were to be found at Borch's death; only minor editing has been undertaken. Given the incomplete nature of the manuscript we have further decided,in consultation with the series editors, to add a selection of Borch's articles in the economics of insurance. We have naturally chosen the articles with a view to their complementarity with the textbook exposition, so that they may be seen also as a selection of readings to be studied along with the main text. We hope that the book as a whole will serve as a stimulating introduction to the economics of insurance. We are glad to be able to publish this book as a memorial to a scholar who was not only a leader in his field, but also an important source of inspiration and support to a large number of colleagues and students, both at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration and at many universities and research institutions throughout the world.

Bergen, March