Floods and Their Impacts on Firms : Evidence from Tanzania
This study explores how businesses in Tanzania are impacted by floods, and which strategies they use to cope and adapt. These insights are based on firm survey data collected in 2018 using a tailored questionnaire, covering a sample of more than 80...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/481961631557620454/Floods-and-Their-Impacts-on-Firms-Evidence-from-Tanzania http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36282 |
| id |
okr-10986-36282 |
|---|---|
| recordtype |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
okr-10986-362822021-10-20T14:32:31Z Floods and Their Impacts on Firms : Evidence from Tanzania Rentschler, Jun Kim, Ella Thies, Stephan De Vries Robbe, Sophie Erman, Alvina Hallegatte, Stéphane MICROENTERPRISES SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES FLOODS DISASTER RESILIENCE TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE BUSINESS SUPPORT ELECTRICITY ACCESS This study explores how businesses in Tanzania are impacted by floods, and which strategies they use to cope and adapt. These insights are based on firm survey data collected in 2018 using a tailored questionnaire, covering a sample of more than 800 firms. To assess the impact of disasters on businesses, the study considers direct damages and indirect effects through infrastructure systems, supply chains, and workers. While direct on-site damages from flooding can be substantial, they tend to affect a relatively small share of firms. Indirect impacts of floods are more prevalent and sizable. Flood-induced infrastructure disruptions—especially electricity and transport—obstruct the operations of firms even when they are not directly located in flood zones. The effects of such disruptions are further propagated and multiplied along supply chains. The study estimates that supply chain multipliers are responsible for 30 to 50 percent of all flood-related delivery delays. To cope with these impacts, firms apply a variety of strategies. Firms mitigate supply disruptions by adjusting the size and geographical reach of their supply networks, and by adjusting inventory holdings. By investing in costly backup capacity (such as water tanks and electricity generators), firms mitigate the impact of infrastructure disruptions. The study estimates that only 13 percent of firms receive government support in the aftermath of floods. 2021-09-17T17:54:54Z 2021-09-17T17:54:54Z 2021-09 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/481961631557620454/Floods-and-Their-Impacts-on-Firms-Evidence-from-Tanzania http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36282 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9774 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Africa Africa Eastern and Southern (AFE) Tanzania |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
MICROENTERPRISES SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES FLOODS DISASTER RESILIENCE TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE BUSINESS SUPPORT ELECTRICITY ACCESS |
| spellingShingle |
MICROENTERPRISES SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES FLOODS DISASTER RESILIENCE TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE BUSINESS SUPPORT ELECTRICITY ACCESS Rentschler, Jun Kim, Ella Thies, Stephan De Vries Robbe, Sophie Erman, Alvina Hallegatte, Stéphane Floods and Their Impacts on Firms : Evidence from Tanzania |
| geographic_facet |
Africa Africa Eastern and Southern (AFE) Tanzania |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9774 |
| description |
This study explores how businesses in
Tanzania are impacted by floods, and which strategies they
use to cope and adapt. These insights are based on firm
survey data collected in 2018 using a tailored
questionnaire, covering a sample of more than 800 firms. To
assess the impact of disasters on businesses, the study
considers direct damages and indirect effects through
infrastructure systems, supply chains, and workers. While
direct on-site damages from flooding can be substantial,
they tend to affect a relatively small share of firms.
Indirect impacts of floods are more prevalent and sizable.
Flood-induced infrastructure disruptions—especially
electricity and transport—obstruct the operations of firms
even when they are not directly located in flood zones. The
effects of such disruptions are further propagated and
multiplied along supply chains. The study estimates that
supply chain multipliers are responsible for 30 to 50
percent of all flood-related delivery delays. To cope with
these impacts, firms apply a variety of strategies. Firms
mitigate supply disruptions by adjusting the size and
geographical reach of their supply networks, and by
adjusting inventory holdings. By investing in costly backup
capacity (such as water tanks and electricity generators),
firms mitigate the impact of infrastructure disruptions. The
study estimates that only 13 percent of firms receive
government support in the aftermath of floods. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Rentschler, Jun Kim, Ella Thies, Stephan De Vries Robbe, Sophie Erman, Alvina Hallegatte, Stéphane |
| author_facet |
Rentschler, Jun Kim, Ella Thies, Stephan De Vries Robbe, Sophie Erman, Alvina Hallegatte, Stéphane |
| author_sort |
Rentschler, Jun |
| title |
Floods and Their Impacts on Firms : Evidence from Tanzania |
| title_short |
Floods and Their Impacts on Firms : Evidence from Tanzania |
| title_full |
Floods and Their Impacts on Firms : Evidence from Tanzania |
| title_fullStr |
Floods and Their Impacts on Firms : Evidence from Tanzania |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Floods and Their Impacts on Firms : Evidence from Tanzania |
| title_sort |
floods and their impacts on firms : evidence from tanzania |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/481961631557620454/Floods-and-Their-Impacts-on-Firms-Evidence-from-Tanzania http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36282 |
| _version_ |
1764484929158119424 |