SSRN-National Drought Insurance for Malawi by Joanna Syroka, Antonio Nucifora

Why not? Great idea. Drought insurance for the entire country. Indeed, could hedge many of these risks. This is sure to be a in class discussion.

SSRN-National Drought Insurance for Malawi by Joanna Syroka, Antonio Nucifora:

"...describes a weather risk management tool that has been developed to help the government manage the financial impact of drought-related national maize production shortfalls. The instrument is an index-based weather derivative contract designed to transfer the financial risk of severe and catastrophic national drought that adversely impacts the government's budget to the international risk markets.....This innovative risk management instrument was pioneered in 2008/2009 by the Government of Malawi, with the assistance of the World Bank, and was a first for a sovereign entity in Africa. Several piloting seasons will be necessary to understand the scope and limitations of such contracts, and their role in the government's strategy, contingency planning, and operational drought response framework."