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What do Household Surveys Really Tell Us about Risk, Shocks, and Risk Management in the Developing World?

Author

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  • Rasmus Heltberg
  • Ana Mar�a Oviedo
  • Faiyaz Talukdar

Abstract

We report on a project to explore empirical patterns in risk, shocks and risk management using recent household surveys with risk modules from 16 different developing countries. Natural disasters, health shocks, economic shocks, and asset loss are the most commonly reported types of shocks and, especially for the poor, often result in 'bad' coping responses that may perpetuate vulnerability. The information culled from these survey modules falls short of expectations in several ways.

Suggested Citation

  • Rasmus Heltberg & Ana Mar�a Oviedo & Faiyaz Talukdar, 2015. "What do Household Surveys Really Tell Us about Risk, Shocks, and Risk Management in the Developing World?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3), pages 209-225, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:51:y:2015:i:3:p:209-225
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2014.959934
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    1. Abdullah Al Mamun & Noorshella Binti Che Nawi & Mohd Asrul Hery Bin Ibrahim & Rajennd Muniady, 2018. "Effect of Economic Vulnerability on Competitive Advantages, Enterprise Performance and Sustainability," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-11, April.
    2. Chatterjee, Oindrila & Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal & Mohapatra, Sanket, 2024. "Gold in household portfolios during a pandemic: Evidence from India," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 1288-1306.
    3. Ivette Contreras & Oseni Gbemisola & Amparo Palacios-Lopez & Raka Banerjee, 2023. "Household Surveys during Multiple Crises," World Bank Publications - Reports 40391, The World Bank Group.
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    5. Joshua D Merfeld, 2020. "Moving Up or Just Surviving? Nonfarm Self‐Employment in India," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(1), pages 32-53, January.
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    7. Sagarika Dey & Amrita Nath, 2024. "Welfare shocks, coping strategies and safety nets: a study on rural households of Cachar District, Assam," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 26(3), pages 907-930, December.
    8. Nguyen, Thanh-Tung & Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Grote, Ulrike, 2020. "Multiple shocks and households' choice of coping strategies in rural Cambodia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    9. Yasuyuki Sawada, 2017. "Disasters, Household Decisions, and Insurance Mechanisms: A Review of Evidence and a Case Study from a Developing Country in Asia," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 12(1), pages 18-40, January.
    10. C. Badarinza & V. Balasubramaniam & T. Ramadorai, 2019. "The Household Finance Landscape in Emerging Economies," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 109-129, December.
    11. Ligon, Ethan, 2025. "Risk sharing tests and covariate shocks: Drought, Floods, and Pests in Uganda," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt2zr503fq, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    12. Wan Nurulasiah binti Wan Mustapa & Abdullah Al Mamun & Mohamed Dahlan Ibrahim, 2018. "The Effect of Economic Vulnerability on the Participation in Development Programs and the Socio-Economic Well-Being of Low-Income Households," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-16, July.
    13. Nancy McCarthy & Talip Kilic & Alejandro de la Fuente & Joshua M. Brubaker, 2018. "Shelter from the Storm? Household-Level Impacts of, and Responses to, the 2015 Floods in Malawi," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 237-258, October.
    14. Nguyen, Giang & Nguyen, Trung Thanh, 2020. "Exposure to weather shocks: A comparison between self-reported record and extreme weather data," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 117-138.
    15. Elizabeth Opiyo Onyango & Jonathan Crush & Samuel Owuor, 2021. "Preparing for COVID-19: Household food insecurity and vulnerability to shocks in Nairobi, Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-15, November.
    16. Mulungu, Kelvin & Kilimani, Nicholas, 2023. "Does forest access reduce reliance on costly shock-coping strategies? Evidence from Malawi," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    17. Carolina Laureti, 2017. "Why do Poor People Co-hold Debt and Liquid Savings?," Working Papers CEB 17-007, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    18. Azeem, Muhammad Masood & Mugera, Amin W. & Schilizzi, Steven, 2016. "Poverty and vulnerability in the Punjab, Pakistan: A multilevel analysis," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 57-72.
    19. Yuying Yang & Hui Du & Duanyang Gao & Rui Li, 2023. "Can government support improve households’ ability to resist natural disaster shocks? Evidence from poor rural areas in China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 119(3), pages 1583-1610, December.
    20. Oindrila Chatterjee & Balagopal Gopalakrishnan & Sanket Mohapatra, 2023. "Gold in household portfolios during a pandemic: Evidence from an emerging economy," IIMA Working Papers WP 2023-06-01, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    21. MAMOUDOU Ba & Mazhar Mughal, 2022. "Weather Shocks, Coping Strategies and Household Well-being: Evidence from Rural Mauritania," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(3), pages 482-502, March.
    22. Shatha Mustafa Abdallah Al Qudah & José Luis Fuentes Bargues & Pablo Ferrer Gisbert & Hani Na'el Al‐Abdallat, 2025. "AI‐Driven Risk Management to Promote SDGs? An Exploratory Study in Jordan Construction Sector," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(S1), pages 1107-1123, November.
    23. Alkis Blanz, 2023. "Climate-related Agricultural Productivity Losses through a Poverty Lens," Papers 2310.16490, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2023.
    24. Karim, Azreen, 2018. "The Household Response to Persistent Natural Disasters: Evidence from Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 40-59.

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