About ASEC

The Applied Services Economic Centre (ASEC) was initiated in 1985 by the Geneva Association’s Founding Secretary-General, Orio Giarini, who was then concerned that not enough thought and attention was being directed to the steady evolution of modern economies and societies from agriculture and manufacturing towards a “services economy”, with all of  the multiple and varied implications which that development might imply. ASEC was thus conceived essentially as a lookout institution -- an “observatoire” -- which would identify, focus and report on emerging services trends and issues and serve to stimulate interest and wide-ranging efforts by other affected parties. 

ASEC studies and researches important cross-cutting themes and issues related to the development of the modern global service economy. Our 21^st century reality of predominantly services-based economies and societies in all countries, advanced as well as developed, and of an ever globalizing “service economy” are still not always properly understood. ASEC’s continuing purpose is to investigate those developments and trends within the evolving global service economy which deserve greater attention in their own right and will be of broad interest to the insurance industry worldwide.   

ASEC operates as a loose consortium of researchers and practitioners in the field of services and insurance. It offers a forum for open discussion and exchange of views on key topics, conducts studies and advises on services issues, and seeks to stimulate interaction among business, government and officials of international organizations through seminars, conferences and other activities. ASEC is not committed to any particular point of view or commercial interest; rather, those associated with ASEC are brought together by the shared perspective that services currently underlie and drive national economies as well as the contemporary global economy. To this end, ASEC conducts enquiries and studies on services-related themes, participates in and sometimes sponsors seminars and conferences, and attempts to contribute to a better understanding of the role and function of services in modern global services economies.

ASEC, like its sister entities the Chief Risk Officers’ Network (CRONetworks), the World Fire Statistics Institute (WFSI), among other initiatives, are stand-alone, ancillary activities of the Geneva Association. For more than 30 years, the Geneva Association has operated as the preeminent international body for research and discussion of insurance-related issues worldwide. Through its annual general meeting and year-long activities, its internal and sponsored research and specialized conferences, and its Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance and various newsletters, the Geneva Association contributes both to a better industry understanding of key issues and a better public understanding of the world insurance industry. The work of each of its affiliated organizations is designed to complement and support the primary focus and interest of the Geneva Association in the evolving role and functions of insurance in the contemporary global world economy.