Modern Disaster Theory: Evaluating Disaster Law as a Portfolio of Legal Rules

Authors

Jim Chen

Abstract

Disaster law consists of a portfolio of legal rules for dealing with catastrophic risks. This Article takes preliminary steps toward modeling that metaphor in quantitative terms made familiar through modern portfolio theory. Modern disaster theory, by analogy to the foundational model of corporate finance, treats disaster law as the best portfolio of legal rules. Optimal legal preparedness for disaster consists of identifying, adopting, and maintaining that portfolio of rules at the frontier of efficient governance.

Recommended Citation

Jim Chen, Modern Disaster Theory: Evaluating Disaster Law as a Portfolio of Legal Rules, 25 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 1121 (2011).
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr/vol25/iss3/4