Adam Elga

When a system consisting of many interacting parts (such as an electrical power grid or a banking network) starts failing, it is tempting to make the system more robust by linking its parts together. Adam Elga is studying how market forces, political incentives, and psychological tendencies all push in the direction of creating systems that are both fragile and seemingly robust, while the existence of stable risks is a good that is subject to a serious free rider problem.