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Not So Natural: Unequal Effects of Public Policies on the Occurrence of Disasters

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  • Albuquerque Sant'Anna, André

Abstract

This paper assesses the effects of public policies on the occurrence of natural disasters related to extreme rainfall. By using a unique and geolocated database on natural disasters in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I test whether variables related to public policies - e.g. forest cover and urban infrastructure - affect the occurrence of natural disasters, conditional on the existence of extreme rainfall. Results point to a significant role for public policies in order to mitigate effects of extreme weather events. More specifically, results point to an important role for urban infrastructure, as proper sewage and waste collection, and forest cover in reducing the impacts of extreme rainfall. Moreover, I discuss how these heterogeneous effects have distributional consequences and can be linked to the Environmental Justice literature. Finally, this paper reinforces the idea that adaptation policies to disasters are essential in reducing local vulnerabilities and can yield distributional and fiscal benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Albuquerque Sant'Anna, André, 2018. "Not So Natural: Unequal Effects of Public Policies on the Occurrence of Disasters," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 273-281.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:152:y:2018:i:c:p:273-281
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.06.011
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    Cited by:

    1. Douglas S. Noonan & Xian Liu, 2019. "Heading for the Hills? Effects of Community Flood Management on Local Adaptation to Flood Risks," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(2), pages 800-822, October.
    2. Ying Li & Yung‐ho Chiu & Tai‐Yu Lin & Hongyi Cen & Yabin Liu, 2021. "Evaluation of natural disaster treatment efficiency in 27 Chinese provinces," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(3), pages 256-288, August.
    3. Hafni, Nur, 2021. "Optimization Of Destana Policies (Resilience Disaster Village) To Improve Community Preparedness For Flood Disaster In Bojonegoro District, Indonesia," OSF Preprints 9gfwh, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Natural disasters; Public policy; Climate change; Inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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