Risks, Ex-ante Actions and Public Assistance : Impacts of Natural Disasters on Child Schooling in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Malawi

This paper examines the impacts of natural disasters on schooling investments with special focus on the roles of ex-ante actions and ex-post responses using panel data from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Malawi. The importance of ex-ante actions depends on disaster risks and the likelihood of public assistance, which potentially creates substitution between the two actions. The findings show that higher future probabilities of disasters increase the likelihood of holding more human capital and/or livestock relative to land, and this asset-portfolio effect is significant in disaster prone areas. The empirical results support the roles of both ex-ante and ex-post responses (public assistance) in coping with disasters, but also show interesting variations across countries. In Ethiopia, public assistance plays a more important role than ex-ante actions to mitigate the impact of shocks on child schooling. In contrast, households in Malawi rely more on private ex-ante actions than public assistance. The Bangladesh example shows active roles of both ex-ante and ex-post actions. These observations are consistent with the finding on the relationship between ex-ante actions and disaster risks. The results also show that among ex-ante actions, human capital accumulated in the household prior to disasters helps mitigate the negative effects of disasters in both the short and long runs.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Yohannes, Yisehac, Yamauchi, Futoshi, Quisumbing, Agnes
Language:	English
Published:	2009-04-01
Subjects:	ADVERSE IMPACT, ADVERSE IMPACTS, AGRICULTURE, ASSET ALLOCATION, ASSET HOLDING, ASSET HOLDINGS, BORROWING, CLIMATE CHANGE, COLLATERAL, CURRENT INCOME, DAMAGES, DECISION MAKING, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT NETWORK, DISASTER, DISASTER AREAS, DISASTER PRONE AREAS, DISASTER REDUCTION, DISASTER RISK, DISASTER RISK REDUCTION, DISASTER RISKS, DISASTER-PRONE COUNTRIES, DIVERSIFICATION, DROUGHT, DROUGHTS, EARTHQUAKE, EARTHQUAKES, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, ECONOMIC RECESSION, ECONOMIC RECESSIONS, ECONOMIC SHOCKS, EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE, EMERGENCY RELIEF, EXPECTED RETURNS, EXPECTED UTILITY, EXTENSION SERVICES, FARM INCOME, FARMERS, FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION, FINANCIAL MARKETS, FLOOD, FLOODS, FOOD AID, FOOD SECURITY, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HUMAN CAPITAL, HURRICANE, IMPACT OF DISASTER, IMPACT OF DISASTERS, IMPERFECT CREDIT, INCOME EFFECT, INCOME LEVEL, INCOME LEVELS, INEFFICIENCY, INSURANCE, INVESTING, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKETS, LIQUIDITY, LOW-INCOME, MARGINAL COST, MARGINAL UTILITY, NATURAL DISASTER, NATURAL DISASTERS, NATURAL HAZARD, NATURAL HAZARDS, OPPORTUNITY COST, OPPORTUNITY COSTS, POLITICAL ECONOMY, PORTFOLIO, PRECAUTIONARY SAVING, PRECAUTIONARY SAVINGS, PROBABILITIES, PROBABILITY, PRODUCTIVE ASSETS, PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, PUBLIC GOODS, PUBLIC SAFETY, RECONSTRUCTION, RISK AVERSE, RISK AVERSION, SAFETY NET, SAFETY NETS, SAVINGS, SUBSTITUTION EFFECT, TOTAL COST, WAGE,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090424141435 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4103
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