Remittances and natural disasters : ex-post response and contribution to ex-ante preparedness
Lugar y fecha de publicación: México - Junio del 2009. Documento del Banco Mundial. Vicepresidencia de la Red de Desarrollo Sostenible.
Nota: Documento en Idioma Inglés
Macro- and micro-economic evidence suggests a positive role of remittances in preparing households against natural disasters and in coping with the loss afterwards. Analysis of cross-country macroeconomic data shows that remittances increase in the aftermath of natural disasters in countries that have a larger number of migrants abroad. Analysis of household survey data in Bangladesh shows that per capita consumption was higher in remittance-receiving households than in others after the 1998 flood. Ethiopian remittance-dependent households seem to use cash reserves rather than sell livestock to cope with drought. In Burkina Faso and Ghana, international remittance-receiving households, especially those receiving remittances from high-income developed countries, tend to have housing built of concrete rather than mud and greater access to communication equipment, suggesting that they are better prepared against natural disasters.
Number of Pages: 34
Language: English.
Credits and original source: World Bank
WPS4972.pdf