Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Huge economic losses from natural disasters, including nearly 100 000 fatalities world wide in 1999 alone, gave rise to a renewed recognition by government, industry and the public that national governments and international agencies cannot simply go on as they have in the past. Changes in financial cover, better enforcement procedures for building standards, better business contingency planning, and well developed emergency response were demanded from all sides. In this volume an international group of experts present recent research on the variety of approaches adopted by different countries to assess natural hazard risks and the incentives for mitigating and financing them, the particular focus being in earthquake risks. The volume also presents an in-depth summary of recent reforms in Turkey related to seismic risks, with comparative research from many other countries. Linkages are emphasised between science and engineering infrastructure, insurance and risk management, and public policy.

This volume gathers some of the finest and most recent research in economic and political design. Among the authors are several most prominent academics as well as many new and promising researchers. They investigate social choice and electoral systems, auctions, matching, bargaining, coalitional stability and efficiency, regulation, the design of rights, mechanisms, games, hierarchies and information. The book is bound to become a standard reference as a collection displaying where we are and where we are going in a broad spectrum of areas in economic design.

Huge economic losses from natural disasters, including nearly 100 000 fatalities world wide in 1999 alone, gave rise to a renewed recognition by government, industry and the public that national governments and international agencies cannot simply go on as they have in the past. Changes in financial cover, better enforcement procedures for building standards, better business contingency planning, and well developed emergency response were demanded from all sides. In this volume an international group of experts present recent research on the variety of approaches adopted by different countries to assess natural hazard risks and the incentives for mitigating and financing them, the particular focus being in earthquake risks. The volume also presents an in-depth summary of recent reforms in Turkey related to seismic risks, with comparative research from many other countries. Linkages are emphasised between science and engineering infrastructure, insurance and risk management, and public policy.