Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention.
Title:
Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters : The Economics of Effective Prevention.
Author:
Bank, The World.
ISBN:
9780821381410
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (305 pages)
Contents:
Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Praise for Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Memorandum to a Conderned Finance Minister -- Overview -- 1. Fluctuating Deaths, Rising Damages-the Numbers -- 3.3 million deaths in the 40 years to 2010 -- Disasters can strike anywhere -- Damages are rising -- More so in rich countries, less in poor -- Small island economies are hit hard -- Deaths expand Africa-damages shrink it -- Multiple hazards, clustering in different ways -- Spotlight 1 on Bangladesh: The antecedents of lives saved -- 2. Measuring Disasters' Many Effects -- Individuals over the edge -- Conflicts: Cause or consequence? -- Welfare falls, but what are the effects on output? And for how long? -- Aggregate and sectoral effects on economic output and growth in the long term -- Measuring the damage: Twice over and half under? -- Spotlight 2 on Turkey: Where civilizations and tectonic plates meet -- 3. Prevention by Individuals -- Prevention, insurance, and coping: A simple framework -- Prevention: Do individuals do enough? -- Prices reflect hazard risks when land and real estate markets work -- Improving individuals' decisions: What can governments do? -- Spotlight 3 on Haiti: Preventing Haiti's horrors -- 4. Prevention through Governments -- How much do governments spend? -- Who really decides government spending? -- How to improve collective prevention measures -- Spotlight 4 on Ethiopia: Deaths from droughts or Derg? -- 5. Insurance and Coping -- Insurance: Useful if the premium is priced right -- Should governments borrow, set aside funds, or buy insurance? -- Quick and direct help for families -- Spotlight 5 on the 2004 Tsunami: Warnings: The most effective prevention? -- 6. Coming Game-Changers? Burgeoning Cities, Climate Change, and Climate-Induced Catastrophes -- Cities: Rising exposure.
Climate change: Changing hazards, changing damages -- Climate-related catastrophes: Deep-future disasters with a global footprint -- Connecting the three Cs: Cities, climate, catastrophes -- Memorandum to a Concerned Citizen -- Notes and References -- Index -- Back Cover.
Abstract:
Earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms are natural hazards, but unnatural disasters are the deaths and damages that result from human acts of omission and commission. Every disaster is unique, but each exposes actions-by individuals and governments at different levels-that, had they been different, would have resulted in fewer deaths and less damage. Prevention is possible, and this book examines what it takes to do this cost-effectively.It 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 book 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, it shows that while urbanization and climate change will increase exposure to hazards, vulnerability can be reduced if cities are better managed.This book will be of interest to government officials, urban planners, relief agencies, NGOs, donors, and other development practitioners.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Genre:
Electronic Access:
Click to View