Fenomén morálního hazardu

Moral hazard arises in situation when subject is insulated from risk and therefore has a tendency to act less carefully. Moral hazard traditionally occurs in insurance markets, when the behaviour of the insured party changes in a way that raises costs for the insurer. Recently, moral hazard has increased in financial markets due to possibilities of lending institutions to push risk onto investors through loans securitization and use of financial derivatives spreading risks. Moral hazard of so called “too big to fail” lending institutions has a tendency to grow if governments are prepared to bailed them out in case of bad investments. The article treats moral hazard as a form of market failure, outlines its consequences and ways how it can be tackled.