POVERTY AND NATURAL DISASTERS — A QUALITATIVE SURVEY OF THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

Abstract

The last few years have seen an explosion of economic research on the consequences of natural disasters. This new interest is attributable first and foremost to a growing awareness of the potentially catastrophic nature of these events, but also a result of the increasing awareness that natural disasters are social and economic events: their impact is shaped as much by the structure and characteristics of the countries they hit as by their physical characteristics. Here, we survey the literature that examines the direct and indirect impact of natural disaster events specifically on the poor and their impact on the distribution of income within affected communities and societies. We also discuss some of the lacunae in this literature and outline a future agenda of investigation.