The Economics Of Natural And Unnatural Disasters

Author : William S. Kern
Publisher : W.E. Upjohn Institute
Page : 151 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780880993630

Get Book

The Economics of Natural and Unnatural Disasters by William S. Kern Pdf

Only recently have economists understood natural and unnatural disasters as economic phenomena to be formally analyzed. Given the magnitude of many recent disasters, their impact on local, regional, and national economies, and the coverage of their consequences in the popular press, it is puzzling that the attention of economists was for so long largely diverted from analysis of these events. This book presents a noted group of contributors who stand at the forefront of this increasingly important subdiscipline of economics the economics of disasters. The chapters they contribute cover a wide variety of events and delve into the human and economic impacts disasters impose on nations around the world. Several themes dominant in this literature are discussed. These include the ability of potential disaster victims to accurately assess the risks they face, the role of incentives in ensuring that mitigation efforts are undertaken, the adequacy of our evaluation of the impact of disasters on economies, and discussion of the effectiveness of current government policies toward disaster prevention and relief. These will in all likelihood continue to be topics of discussion in the future as well.

Author : United Nations
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780821380505

Get Book

Natural Hazards, Unnatural Disasters by United Nations Pdf

"A combination of case studies, data on many scales, and application of economic principles...[this report] provides an understanding of the relative roles of the market, government intervention, and social institutions in determining and improving both the prevention and the response to hazardous occurrences."-Kenneth J. Arrow, Nobel Prize in Economics, 1972

Author : United Nations
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:741355077

Get Book

Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters by United Nations Pdf

Earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms are natural hazards, but unnatural disasters are the deaths and damages that result from human acts of omission and commission. Every disaster is unique, but each exposes actions--by individuals and governments at different levels--that, had they been different, would have resulted in fewer deaths and less damage. Prevention is possible, and this book examines what it takes to do this cost-effectively. It looks at disasters primarily through an economic lens. Economists emphasize self-interest to explain how people choose the amount of prevention, insurance, and coping. But lenses can distort as well as sharpen images, so the book also draws from other disciplines: psychology to examine how people may misperceive risks, political science to understand voting patterns, and nutrition science to see how stunting in children after a disaster impairs cognitive abilities and productivity as adults much later. Peering into the future, it shows that while urbanization and climate change will increase exposure to hazards, vulnerability can be reduced if cities are better managed. This book will be of interest to government officials, urban planners, relief agencies, NGOs, donors, and other development practitioners.

Author : Janet N. Abramovitz
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 68 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Social Science
ISBN : STANFORD:36105113028927

Get Book

Unnatural Disasters by Janet N. Abramovitz Pdf

The author lays out detailed recommendations for changing the way we manage disasters and ourselves. To the extent possible, people and structures should be located out of harm's way. When hazards are unavoidable, buildings should be made to withstand them. The author believes healthy ecosystems should be maintained or restored to provide natural disaster protection.

Author : Gonzalo Lizarralde
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 482 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2021-08-10
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780231552509

Get Book

Unnatural Disasters by Gonzalo Lizarralde Pdf

Storms, floods, fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other disasters seem not only more frequent but also closer to home. As the world faces this onslaught, we have placed our faith in “sustainable development,” which promises that we can survive and even thrive in the face of climate change and other risks. Yet while claiming to “go green,” we have instead created new risks, continued to degrade nature, and failed to halt global warming. Unnatural Disasters offers a new perspective on our most pressing environmental and social challenges, revealing the gaps between abstract concepts like sustainability, resilience, and innovation and the real-world experiences of people living at risk. Gonzalo Lizarralde explains how the causes of disasters are not natural but all too human: inequality, segregation, marginalization, colonialism, neoliberalism, racism, and unrestrained capitalism. He tells the stories of Latin American migrants, Haitian earthquake survivors, Canadian climate activists, African slum dwellers, and other people resisting social and environmental injustices around the world. Lizarralde shows that most reconstruction and risk-reduction efforts exacerbate social inequalities. Some responses do produce meaningful changes, but they are rarely the ones powerful leaders have in mind. This book reveals how disasters have become both the causes and consequences of today’s most urgent challenges and proposes achievable solutions to save a planet at risk, emphasizing the power citizens hold to change the current state of affairs.

Author : Suman Kumari Sharma,Euston Quah
Publisher : World Scientific
Page : 299 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2018-12-12
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9789814723244

Get Book

Economics Of Natural Disasters by Suman Kumari Sharma,Euston Quah Pdf

Unlike existing books on the topic that cover more on non-economic aspects of natural disasters, this book covers economic aspects of natural disasters viz damage assessment, risk management and resilience. The book contains several case studies and covers some of the major natural disasters in different countries, most notably the recent Nepal earthquake, tsunami in Fukushima, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, floods in Thailand, the typhoon Haiyan, and the eruptions of Mount Merapi. It also suggests avenues for better public policies to tackle economics of natural disasters.

Author : Debarati Guha-Sapir,Indhira Santos,Alexandre Borde
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 417 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2013-05-02
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780199339808

Get Book

The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters by Debarati Guha-Sapir,Indhira Santos,Alexandre Borde Pdf

Since the turn of the millennium, more than one million people have been killed and 2.3 billion others have been directly affected by natural disasters around the world. In cases like the 2010 Haiti earthquake or the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, these disasters have time and time again wrecked large populations and national infrastructures. While recognizing that improved rescue, evacuation, and disease control are crucial to reducing the effects of natural disasters, in the final analysis, poverty remains the main risk factor determining the long-term impact of natural hazards. Furthermore, natural disasters have themselves a tremendous impact on the poorest of the poor, who are often ill-prepared to deal with natural hazards and for whom a hurricane, an earthquake, or a drought can mean a permanent submersion in poverty. The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters focuses on these concerns for poverty and vulnerability. Written by a collection of esteemed scholars in disaster management and sustainable development, the report provides an overview of the general trends in natural disasters and their effects by focusing on a critical analysis of different methodologies used to assess the economic impact of natural disasters. Economic Impacts presents six national case studies (Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Nicaragua, Japan and the Netherlands) and shows how household surveys and country-level macroeconomic data can analyze and quantify the economic impact of disasters. The researchers within Economic Impacts have created path-breaking work and have opened new avenues for thinking and debate to push forward the frontiers of knowledge on economics of natural disasters.

Author : Mark Skidmore
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 550 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2017-06-30
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1782549706

Get Book

The Economics of Natural Disasters by Mark Skidmore Pdf

This timely new collection presents essential readings for those interested in the economics of natural disasters. It features influential articles on the macroeconomic and regional impacts of natural disasters, natural disaster vulnerability, resilience, recovery and adaptation. Topics covered include short-run and long-run economic impacts, poverty and vulnerability, emerging life-saving technologies, the role of government in fostering resilience and adaptation in response to disasters. Together with an original introduction by the editor, this volume will be an invaluable source of reference for researchers and policymakers alike.

Author : John Singleton
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2016-03-25
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781782547358

Get Book

Economic and Natural Disasters since 1900 by John Singleton Pdf

A crisis is a period of uncertainty that may or may not lead to disaster, depending in part on the capacity of actors to make sense of what is happening and respond effectively. Disasters in different spheres occur and recur at different speeds and in idiosyncratic ways, but in essence they follow the same pattern. In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis and Eurozone upheavals this timely book argues that the disaster cycle – a framework normally used in the context of natural disasters – is equally applicable to the analysis of other types of catastrophe. Employing a modified version of the disaster cycle framework to compare and analyse a range of catastrophes in different spheres, the author draws on ideas from a variety of disciplines including economics and economic history, disaster studies, management, and political science. This unique comparative approach presents case studies of several important disasters: Hurricane Katrina, the First World War, the depression of the early 1930s, Welsh coal mining accidents, the deadly effects of smoking tobacco, and the Global Financial Crisis and Eurozone catastrophe of the early twenty first century. The author argues that economists and economic policy makers routinely misuse the term crisis to describe episodes that ought to be called disasters. This accessible and fascinating exploration will appeal to students and scholars in economic history, disaster studies, management, public policy, and related disciplines. The comparison of crisis and disaster management is also essential reading for policy makers.

Author : Sven Fuchs,Thomas Thaler
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2018-03-22
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781107154896

Get Book

Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Hazards by Sven Fuchs,Thomas Thaler Pdf

A comprehensive overview of the concepts of vulnerability and resilience for natural hazards research for both physical and social scientists.

Author : Mark Skidmore
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 848 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Natural disasters
ISBN : 1785365983

Get Book

The Economics of Natural Disasters by Mark Skidmore Pdf

This timely research review presents and discusses essential readings for those interested in the economics of natural disasters. It features analysis of influential articles on the macroeconomic and regional impacts of natural disasters, natural disaster vulnerability, resilience, recovery and adaptation. Topics covered include short-run and long-run economic impacts, poverty and vulnerability, emerging life-saving technologies, the role of government in fostering resilience and adaptation in response to disasters. This detailed new review will be an invaluable source of reference for researchers and policymakers alike.

Author : Skidmore, Mark
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 515 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2022-10-13
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781839103735

Get Book

Handbook on the Economics of Disasters by Skidmore, Mark Pdf

Evaluating the myriad dimensions of how disasters can affect economic activity and decision-making, this cutting-edge Handbook presents a timely analysis of the conditions that reduce or exacerbate disaster impacts. Addressing developments in research on disaster economics, internationally recognized scholars combine theoretical considerations with empirical methods to expand and improve the field of disaster mitigation.

Author : Charlotte Benson,Edward J. Clay
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 136 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0821356852

Get Book

Understanding the economic and financial impacts of natural disasters by Charlotte Benson,Edward J. Clay Pdf

Author : Betsy Reed
Publisher : Nation Books
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2006-08-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 156025937X

Get Book

Unnatural Disaster by Betsy Reed Pdf

Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster of staggering proportions. The vicious winds and surging seas that lashed the Gulf Coast on August 31, 2005, paralyzed New Orleans and left a scene of utter devastation in their wake. But when the winds and waves abated, they revealed an unnatural disaster — a social catastrophe directly caused by the government's callous indifference to the needs of the region's most vulnerable residents. This pattern of near-criminal government neglect did not begin with its response to Katrina, but the hurricane did lay bare its extraordinary depth and horrifying consequences, exposing how race and class can spell life or death in contemporary America. In the months that followed, The Nation published a series of articles and editorials documenting the gross negligence of the Bush administration and the heroic effort of community organizers and ordinary citizens to put their city back together again, as well as the attempts of political progressives to push for a 'New Deal.' Unnatural Disaster includes riveting on-the-scene reporting, columns, blogs, essays and articles from Mike Davis and Anthony Fontenot, Naomi Klein, Patricia Williams, Jeremy Scahill, Eric Alterman, Adolph Reed, Jr., Eric Foner, Curtis Wilkie, Billy Sothern, among many others.

Author : Stéphane Hallegatte
Publisher : Springer
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2014-09-17
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9783319089331

Get Book

Natural Disasters and Climate Change by Stéphane Hallegatte Pdf

This book explores economic concepts related to disaster losses, describes mechanisms that determine the economic consequences of a disaster, and reviews methodologies for making decisions regarding risk management and adaptation. The author addresses the need for better understanding of the consequences of disasters and reviews and analyzes three scientific debates on linkage between disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change. The first involves the existence and magnitude of long-term economic impact of natural disasters on development. The second is the disagreement over whether any development is the proper solution to high vulnerability to disaster risk. The third debate involves the difficulty of drawing connections between natural disasters and climate change and the challenge in managing them through an integrated strategy. The introduction describes economic views of disaster, including direct and indirect costs, output and welfare losses, and use of econometric tools to measure losses. The next section defines disaster risk, delineates between “good” and “bad” risk-taking, and discusses a pathway to balanced growth. A section entitled “Trends in Hazards and the Role of Climate Change” sets scenarios for climate change analysis, discusses statistical and physical models for downscaling global climate scenarios to extreme event scenarios, and considers how to consider extremes of hot and cold, storms, wind, drought and flood. Another section analyzes case studies on hurricanes and the US coastline; sea-level rises and storm surge in Copenhagen; and heavy precipitation in Mumbai. A section on Methodologies for disaster risk management includes a study on cost-benefit analysis of coastal protections in New Orleans, and one on early-warning systems in developing countries. The next section outlines decision-making in disaster risk management, including robust decision-making, No-regret and No-risk strategies; and strategies that reduce time horizons for decision-making. Among the conclusions is the assertion that risk management policies must recognize the benefits of risk-taking and avoid suppressing it entirely. The main message is that a combination of disaster-risk-reduction, resilience-building and adaptation policies can yield large potential gains and synergies.