IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v30y2021i2p432-452.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can we mitigate the effect of natural disasters on child health? Evidence from the Indian Ocean tsunami in Indonesia

Author

Listed:
  • Aurélia Lépine
  • Maria Restuccio
  • Eric Strobl

Abstract

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was an international natural disaster unlike any seen before, killing 166,561 people in Aceh province, Indonesia. It prompted an unprecedented humanitarian response and was a catalyst in ending almost 30 years of civil conflict in Aceh. Since the tsunami was followed by a multitude of events, we first conduct a systematic review to identify those events in Indonesia. We then use a synthetic control method to estimate the combination of those effects on child mortality indicators in Aceh for the 13 years that followed the disaster using data from 258,918 children born between 1990 and 2017. The results show a significant increase in under‐5 mortality only the year after the tsunami and no effect in the medium term. However, younger and older children were affected differently in the medium term. In fact, we show a decrease in child mortality among children aged 1–4 years. In contrast, we observe an increase in mortality among children under‐1 in 2009 and 2010. Overall, the resilience of Aceh province points to the importance of coordinated international disaster responses after natural disasters.

Suggested Citation

  • Aurélia Lépine & Maria Restuccio & Eric Strobl, 2021. "Can we mitigate the effect of natural disasters on child health? Evidence from the Indian Ocean tsunami in Indonesia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 432-452, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:30:y:2021:i:2:p:432-452
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4202
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4202
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/hec.4202?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Powell-Jackson, Timothy & Mazumdar, Sumit & Mills, Anne, 2015. "Financial incentives in health: New evidence from India's Janani Suraksha Yojana," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 154-169.
    2. Sharon Maccini & Dean Yang, 2009. "Under the Weather: Health, Schooling, and Economic Consequences of Early-Life Rainfall," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(3), pages 1006-1026, June.
    3. Arianto A. Patunru, 2015. "Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation in Indonesia," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(2), pages 234-244, May.
    4. Prema-chandra Athukorala, 2012. "Disaster, Generosity and Recovery: Indian Ocean Tsunami," Departmental Working Papers 2012-04, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    5. Neelsen, Sven & Stratmann, Thomas, 2011. "Effects of prenatal and early life malnutrition: Evidence from the Greek famine," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 479-488, May.
    6. Geoffrey McNicoll, 2011. "Achievers and Laggards in Demographic Transition: A Comparison of Indonesia and Nigeria," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 37(Supplemen), pages 191-214, January.
    7. Elizabeth Frankenberg & Thomas Gillespie & Samuel Preston & Bondan Sikoki & Duncan Thomas, 2011. "Mortality, The Family and The Indian Ocean Tsunami," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(554), pages 162-182, August.
    8. Bruno Ferman & Cristine Pinto & Vitor Possebom, 2020. "Cherry Picking with Synthetic Controls," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(2), pages 510-532, March.
    9. Caruso, Germán & Miller, Sebastian, 2015. "Long run effects and intergenerational transmission of natural disasters: A case study on the 1970 Ancash Earthquake," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 134-150.
    10. Grayman, Jesse Hession, 2014. "Rapid response: Email, immediacy, and medical humanitarianism in Aceh, Indonesia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 334-343.
    11. Alberto Abadie & Javier Gardeazabal, 2003. "The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case Study of the Basque Country," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 113-132, March.
    12. Prema-chandra Athukorala & Budy P. Resosudarmo, 2005. "The Indian Ocean Tsunami: Economic Impact, Disaster Management, and Lessons," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 4(1), pages 1-39, Winter.
    13. John A. Maluccio & John Hoddinott & Jere R. Behrman & Reynaldo Martorell & Agnes R. Quisumbing & Aryeh D. Stein, 2009. "The Impact of Improving Nutrition During Early Childhood on Education among Guatemalan Adults," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(537), pages 734-763, April.
    14. Jessica Y. Ho & Elizabeth Frankenberg & Cecep Sumantri & Duncan Thomas, 2017. "Adult Mortality Five Years after a Natural Disaster," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 43(3), pages 467-490, September.
    15. Sisira Jayasuriya & Peter McCawley, 2010. "The Asian Tsunami," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13668.
    16. Clark Gray & Elizabeth Frankenberg & Thomas Gillespie & Cecep Sumantri & Duncan Thomas, 2014. "Studying Displacement After a Disaster Using Large-Scale Survey Methods: Sumatra After the 2004 Tsunami," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 104(3), pages 594-612, May.
    17. Ava Cas & Elizabeth Frankenberg & Wayan Suriastini & Duncan Thomas, 2014. "The Impact of Parental Death on Child Well-being: Evidence From the Indian Ocean Tsunami," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 437-457, April.
    18. Datar, Ashlesha & Liu, Jenny & Linnemayr, Sebastian & Stecher, Chad, 2013. "The impact of natural disasters on child health and investments in rural India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 83-91.
    19. Frankenberg, E. & Friedman, J. & Gillespie, T. & Ingwersen, N. & Pynoos, R. & Rifai, I.U. & Sikoki, B. & Steinberg, A. & Sumantri, C. & Suriastini, W. & Thomas, D., 2008. "Mental health in Sumatra after the tsunami," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(9), pages 1671-1677.
    20. Abadie, Alberto & Diamond, Alexis & Hainmueller, Jens, 2010. "Synthetic Control Methods for Comparative Case Studies: Estimating the Effect of California’s Tobacco Control Program," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 105(490), pages 493-505.
    21. Craig Thorburn, 2009. "Livelihood recovery in the wake of the tsunami in Aceh," Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 85-105.
    22. Prema-chandra Athukorala, 2012. "Indian Ocean Tsunami: Disaster, Generosity and Recovery," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 26(3), pages 211-231, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Chris Sampson’s journal round-up for 8th March 2021
      by Chris Sampson in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2021-03-08 12:00:01

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sundar Ponnusamy, 2022. "Natural disasters and missing children," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 399-416, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Heger, Martin Philipp & Neumayer, Eric, 2019. "The impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Aceh’s long-term economic growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    2. Carvalho, Carlos & Masini, Ricardo & Medeiros, Marcelo C., 2018. "ArCo: An artificial counterfactual approach for high-dimensional panel time-series data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 207(2), pages 352-380.
    3. Germán Caruso & Inés Marcos & Ilan Noy, 2024. "Climate Changes Affect Human Capital," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 157-196, March.
    4. Elizabeth Frankenberg & Duncan Thomas, 2017. "Human Capital and Shocks: Evidence on Education, Health, and Nutrition," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Poverty Traps, pages 23-56, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Elizabeth Frankenberg & Duncan Thomas, 2017. "Human Capital and Shocks: Evidence on Education, Health, and Nutrition," Working Papers 2017-035, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    6. Snaebjorn Gunnsteinsson & Achyuta Adhvaryu & Parul Christian & Alain Labrique & Jonathan Sugimoto & Abu Ahmed Shamim & Keith P. West Jr, 2019. "Protecting Infants from Natural Disasters: The Case of Vitamin A Supplementation and a Tornado in Bangladesh," NBER Working Papers 25969, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Echevarría, Cruz A. & Hasancebi, Serhat & García-Enríquez, Javier, 2022. "Economic Effects of Macao’s Integration with Mainland China: A Causal Inference Study," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 37(2), pages 179-215.
    8. Bruno Ferman & Cristine Pinto & Vitor Possebom, 2020. "Cherry Picking with Synthetic Controls," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(2), pages 510-532, March.
    9. Maximiliano Marzetti & Rok Spruk, 2023. "Long-Term Economic Effects of Populist Legal Reforms: Evidence from Argentina," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(1), pages 60-95, March.
    10. Breinlich, Holger & Leromain, Elsa & Novy, Dennis & Sampson, Thomas, 2020. "Voting with their money: Brexit and outward investment by UK firms," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    11. Irene Botosaru & Bruno Ferman, 2019. "On the role of covariates in the synthetic control method," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 22(2), pages 117-130.
    12. Michael Funke & Kadri Männasoo & Helery Tasane, 2023. "Regional Economic Impacts of the Øresund Cross-Border Fixed Link: Cui Bono?," CESifo Working Paper Series 10557, CESifo.
    13. Peter Backus & Thien Nguyen, 2021. "The Effect of the Sex Buyer Law on the Market for Sex, Sexual Health and Sexual Violence," Economics Discussion Paper Series 2106, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    14. Francesca Caselli & Matilde Faralli & Paolo Manasse & Ugo Panizza, 2021. "On the Benefits of Repaying," IMF Working Papers 2021/233, International Monetary Fund.
    15. Ruiz, Miguel Haro & Schult, Christoph & Wunder, Christoph, 2024. "The effects of the Iberian exception mechanism on wholesale electricity prices and consumer inflation: A synthetic-controls approach," IWH Discussion Papers 5/2024, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    16. Bautista, M. A. & González, F. & Martínez, L. R. & Muñoz, P. & Prem, M., 2020. "Chile’s Missing Students: Dictatorship, Higher Education and Social Mobility," Documentos de Trabajo 18163, Universidad del Rosario.
    17. Tomasz Serwach, 2023. "The European Union and within‐country income inequalities. The case of the new member states," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(7), pages 1890-1939, July.
    18. Ryan Abman & Hisham Foad, 2022. "Border Walls and Crime: Evidence From the Secure Fence Act," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 167-197, April.
    19. Kuosmanen, Timo & Zhou, Xun & Eskelinen, Juha & Malo, Pekka, 2021. "Design Flaw of the Synthetic Control Method," MPRA Paper 106328, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Debdeep Chattopadhyay, 2023. "Did the Massachusetts Health Reform Program increase self-employment?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 1309-1344, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:30:y:2021:i:2:p:432-452. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.