Biography
Benjamin Collier is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Risk, Insurance, and Healthcare Management in the Fox School of Business at Temple University and a Research Fellow in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in its Risk Management and Decision Processes Center. His research examines how households and firms manage severe climate risks. His recent projects analyze households’ insurance contract decisions in the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program, the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the finances of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the New York area, and the consequences of natural disasters for SME credit markets in developing and emerging economies.
Among other outlets, Collier has published in the Journal of Risk and Insurance and Harvard Business Review. He has been quoted and his research cited in the Wall Street Journal, Business Insurance, and the Actuarial Review. He received the Outstanding Dissertation Award for his work on credit access in communities vulnerable to El Niño related flooding in Peru from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, which selects annually from all dissertations in agricultural and applied economics in the U.S. He is a member of the Risk Theory Society.
Courses Taught
Number | Name | Level |
|---|---|---|
RMI 2901 | Honors Introduction to Risk Management | Undergraduate |
RMI 3567 | Managing International Risk | Undergraduate |
RMI 9002 | Household Finance and Risk Management | Graduate |
Selected Publications
Featured
Collier, B.L. & Ragin, M.A. (2020). The Influence of Sellers on Contract Choice: Evidence from Flood Insurance. Journal of Risk and Insurance, 87(2), 523-557. Wiley. doi: 10.1111/jori.12280.
Collier, B. (2016). Small and Young Businesses Are Especially Vulnerable to Extreme Weather. Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business School Publishing. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/11/small-and-young-businesses-are-especially-vulnerable-to-extreme-weather.
Recent
Collier, B. & Ragin, M. (2022). As Climate Risk Grows, So Will Costs for Small Businesses. Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business School Publishing.
Collier, B.L., Schwartz, D., Kunreuther, H.C., & Michel‐Kerjan, E.O. (2022). Insuring large stakes: A normative and descriptive analysis of households' flood insurance coverage. Journal of Risk and Insurance, 89(2), 273-310. Wiley. doi: 10.1111/jori.12363.
Ragin, M.A., Collier, B.L., & Jaspersen, J.G. (2021). The effect of information disclosure on demand for high‐load insurance. Journal of Risk and Insurance, 88(1), 161-193. Wiley. doi: 10.1111/jori.12308.
Collier, B., Kousky, C., Braun, A., & Kunreuther, H. (2020). Preserving Small Business in the Aftermath of the Coronavirus Catastrophe. BRINK.
Collier, B.L. (2019). Strengthening Local Credit Markets Through Lender‐Level Index Insurance. Journal of Risk & Insurance, 87(2), 319-349. doi: 10.1111/jori.12277.
Collier, B. & Ragin, M. (2019). How Insurance Companies Influence Households’ Flood Insurance Choices. Resilience Lab Notes. Wharton Risk Center.