Risk, Reward, and Resilience Framework: Integrative Policy Making in a Complex World
40 Pages Posted: 14 Sep 2022 Last revised: 10 Jun 2023
Date Written: February 10, 2023
Abstract
In the last few years, many states around the world have faced a series of shocks to their
economies—from the seizing up of global supply chains to the weaponization of trade and
finance—that have catapulted concerns about how to strike a balance between risk, reward,
and resilience into the center of public discussions and policy-making. This Article provides a
new Risk, Reward, and Resilience Framework, which synthesizes and integrates insights from
diverse disciplines and domains. I set out the drivers of each element, how they are connected,
and resulting policy choices. To illustrate its practical application, I apply Risk, Reward, and
Resilience Framework to two case studies involving economic interdependence: the COVID-
19 supply chain shock and China’s economic coercion of Australia. In doing so, I provide
policymakers with a new mental model for thinking about and working through complex policy
challenges.
Keywords: Risk, reward, resilience, economic interdependence, supply chains, economic coercion, weaponized interdependence, integrative policy making
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