Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention

This report synthesizes knowledge about the effects of natural hazards on human welfare, particularly in its economic aspects. It is a remarkable combination of case studies, data on many scales, and the application of economic principles to the pr...

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Main Authors: World Bank, United Nations
Format: Publication
Language:English
Published: World Bank 2012
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=000334955_20101112050234
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2512
id okr-10986-2512
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-25122021-04-23T14:02:02Z Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention World Bank United Nations This report synthesizes knowledge about the effects of natural hazards on human welfare, particularly in its economic aspects. It is a remarkable combination of case studies, data on many scales, and the application of economic principles to the problems posed by earthquakes, abnormal weather, and the like. It provides a deep 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. The report 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 report 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, the report shows that growing cities will increase exposure to hazards, but that vulnerability will not rise if cities are better managed. The intensities and frequencies of hazards in the coming decades will change with the climate, and the report examines this complicated and contentious subject, acknowledging all the limitations of data and science. 2012-03-19T09:35:22Z 2012-03-19T09:35:22Z 2010-11-01 http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000334955_20101112050234 978-0-8213-8050-5 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2512 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank Publications & Research :: Publication Publications & Research :: Publication
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
description This report synthesizes knowledge about the effects of natural hazards on human welfare, particularly in its economic aspects. It is a remarkable combination of case studies, data on many scales, and the application of economic principles to the problems posed by earthquakes, abnormal weather, and the like. It provides a deep 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. The report 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 report 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, the report shows that growing cities will increase exposure to hazards, but that vulnerability will not rise if cities are better managed. The intensities and frequencies of hazards in the coming decades will change with the climate, and the report examines this complicated and contentious subject, acknowledging all the limitations of data and science.
format Publications & Research :: Publication
author World Bank
United Nations
spellingShingle World Bank
United Nations
Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention
author_facet World Bank
United Nations
author_sort World Bank
title Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention
title_short Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention
title_full Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention
title_fullStr Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention
title_full_unstemmed Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention
title_sort natural hazards, unnatural disasters : the economics of effective prevention
publisher World Bank
publishDate 2012
url http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000334955_20101112050234
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2512
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