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121. The Consumption Response to Liquidity-Enhancing Transfers: Evidence from Italian Earthquakes

Author:
Antonio Acconcia and Saverio Simonelli
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:
Exploiting three earthquakes in Italy as quasi-experiments, we analyse the response of homeowners’ consumption to transfers targeted to finance housing repair and reconstruction. To the extent that funds are made available up-front, these transfers are akin to loans, mainly affecting the liquidity of households’ wealth Exploiting three earthquakes in Italy as quasi-experiments, we analyse the response of homeowners’ consumption to transfers targeted to finance housing repair and reconstruction. To the extent that funds are made available up-front, these transfers are akin to loans, mainly affecting the liquidity of households’ wealth. We show that these transfers have little effect over a multi-year horizon—they are not a windfall. Yet, access to reconstruction transfers has a strong and significant effect on non- durable consumption on impact, especially for households with a low level of liquid wealth and bank debt. In contrast, we find no significant consumption change in response to the in-kind equivalent of cash transfers. Our study contributes to the recent literature on the dynamics of the consumption demand by the wealthy hand-to-mouth, providing micro-evidence in line with the main predictions of the theory.
Topic:
Natural Disasters, Homeownership, Housing, Earthquake, and Liquidity
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

122. Wreckage and Recovery: Exploring the Nature of Nature

Author:
AURA: Aarhus University Research on the Anthropocene
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
AURA: Aarhus University Research on the Anthropocene
Abstract:
These papers formed part of the December 2013 workshop, “Wreckage and Recovery: Living with Change.” The workshop, held in Oslo, was a collaborative effort between the University of Oslo’s program in Technology, Information, and Knowledge (TIK), its Anthropos and the Material program, and Aarhus University Research on the Anthropocene (AURA). The call for papers targeted Nordic anthropologists and science studies scholars and was composed by Tina Talleraas, Sylvia Lysgård, and their associates at TIK. By pairing “wreckage” with “recovery,” the workshop set terms that stymied radical declarations of environmental disaster. Still, I’ll admit that I was surprised that among the ten papers presented, not one described “wreckage.” A majority of the papers were ethnographic and historical accounts of efforts at “recovery,” and, in general, the recovery turned out to be at least as problematic as the wreckage it aimed to address. A few papers described resource use and extraction, but they showed negotiation and mitigation, rather than ruin. To the extent this consensus suggests a “comfort zone” for anthropology and STS, I find it cause for concern. Is wreckage off limits? I come back to this question at the end of this introduction. For the moment, my job is to discuss what we offer, not what we miss. The four papers chosen for this working paper highlight the strengths in the workshop as a whole: these are sophisticated analyses of how “nature” comes into being. Rather than setting up a passive backdrop for human activity, the workshop papers described everyday practices, mobilizations, and contests through which natural objects emerge, at least tentatively, within world-making projects.
Topic:
Environment, Natural Disasters, and Nature
Political Geography:
Global Focus

123. Climate Change Resilience: The case of Haiti

Author:
Marc J. Cohen and Bhawan Singh
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Haiti's climate has changed over the past four decades. Annual mean temperatures have risen, and the rainy season now begins up to three months later than usual. Projections of future climate change indicate that annual mean temperatures will continue to rise over the course of the 21st century. Rainfall variability is also expected to increase, meaning more extreme droughts in the dry season and more intense rainfall in the wet season. Sea-level rise and increased storm surges are also expected. The coastal plains are increasingly subject to the influx of saltwater, and as ocean surges lead to saltier soils, farmers can no longer cultivate them. These factors will exacerbate current serious problems of flooding and erosion in coastal areas that lie in the direct path of tropical storms and hurricanes. In the absence of significant adaptation efforts, these dynamics will in turn have severe impacts on water resources, land, agriculture, and forests. Annual population growth of 1.5 per cent means over 11 million mouths to feed by 2020 and additional pressure on agricultural resources.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Poverty, Natural Disasters, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

124. Building Inclusive Coconut-Based Livelihoods in Post-Haiyan Reconstruction in the Philippines

Author:
Joel Rodriguez
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The most powerful storm ever to hit the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Typhoon Yolanda) has affected about 16 million people. Four million people have been displaced; the majority of them are fisherfolk, and small-scale farmers and farm workers.
Topic:
Agriculture, Humanitarian Aid, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Asia and Philippines

125. Rebuilding Fishing Communities and Fisheries: Post-Haiyan Reconstruction in the Philippines

Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Fishing communities, many of whom live in poverty, have been hit hard by Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Typhoon Yolanda). The UN estimates that 30,000 boats have been damaged or destroyed and nearly three-quarters of fishing communities have been severely affected, losing crucial equipment such as boats, nets, and cages.
Topic:
Agriculture, Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, and Food
Political Geography:
Philippines

126. Review of Myanmar's Disaster Management Law from the Angle of Inclusivity

Author:
Adele Peers
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This research reviews Myanmar's Disaster Management Law from the angle of inclusivity. It aims to make Myanmar's disaster management cycle more inclusive of women, children, persons with disabilities and aged persons. It offers recommendations aimed at government and members of the Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) as to how to address inclusivity gaps identified through an analysis of the Disaster Management Law, and beyond. It suggests that many of the gaps can be addressed by construction of robust and inclusive Rules and Regulations to accompany the Law. While this research is focused predominantly on inclusion within Myanmar's Disaster Management Law, it also discusses disaster management processes more broadly. In this way, this research offers useful insights with regards to current and future challenges for comprehensive disaster management in Myanmar.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, Natural Disasters, and Governance
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia and Myanmar

127. Ecosystem Services from Tropical Forests: Review of Current Science

Author:
Katrina Brandon
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Tropical forests exert a more profound influence on weather patterns, freshwater, natural disasters, biodiversity, food, and human health–both in the countries where forests are found and in distant countries–than any other terrestrial biome. This report explains the variety of environmental services tropical forests provide and the science underlying how forests provide these services. Tropical deforestation and degradation have reduced the area covered by tropical forests from 12 percent to less than 5 percent of Earth's land area. Forest loss and degradation has reduced or halted the flows of a wide range of ecosystem goods and services, increasing the vulnerability of potentially billions of people to a variety of damaging impacts. Established and emerging science findings suggest that we have substantially underestimated the global importance of tropical forests and the impacts of their loss on human well-being.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Natural Disasters, and Natural Resources

128. Achieving Disaster Resilience in U.S. Communities

Author:
Stephanie Sanok Kostro and Garrett Riba
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
The increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, the rising amount of economic losses, and the mounting costs of providing relief indicate the growing importance of disaster resilience. Disasters have far- reaching consequences, ranging from the most basic physical injuries and property losses to long- term psychological, economic, and cultural damage. Merely supplementing resources to address the aftermath of disasters— rather than mitigating risks and putting in place key elements in advance of a disaster— is not a sustainable model for community resilience. Additionally, failure to utilize the resources of all public- and private- sector stakeholders to develop long- term planning mechanisms leaves communities vulnerable to repeated, high levels of damage and destruction.
Topic:
Disaster Relief, Government, Terrorism, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
United States

129. Can't Afford to Wait: Why Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation plans in Asia are still failing millions of people

Author:
Steph Cousins
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Climate-related disasters and food crises are devastating thousands of lives and holding back development across Asia. A year on from the devastating super-typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Oxfam calls for governments across Asia, backed by regional and global institutions and fair contributions from wealthy countries, to ramp up efforts to address these challenges. Without greater investment in climate and disaster-resilient development and more effective assistance for those at risk, super-typhoon Haiyan-scale disasters could fast become the norm, not the exception.
Topic:
Climate Change, Disaster Relief, Environment, Humanitarian Aid, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Asia and Philippines

130. Social Capital and Disaster Recovery: Evidence from Sichuan Earthquake in 2008

Author:
Chun Wing Tse, Jianwen Wei, and Yihan Wang
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Social capital can help reduce adverse shocks by facilitating access to transfers and remittances.This study examines how various measures of social capital are associated with disaster recovery after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. We find that households having a larger Spring Festival network in 2008 do better in housing reconstruction. A larger network significantly increases the amount of government aid received for housing reconstruction. Furthermore, households having larger networks receive monetary and material support from more people, which also explains the positive impacts on recovery from the earthquake. As for other measures of social capital, connections with government officials and communist party membership do not significantly contribute to disaster recovery. Human capital, measured by the years of schooling of household head, is not positively correlated with housing reconstruction.
Topic:
Economics, Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, and Governance
Political Geography:
China and Israel