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Poverty and Disasters: Do Remittances Reproduce Vulnerability?

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  • L. Le De
  • J. C. Gaillard
  • W. Friesen

Abstract

In many low-income countries, remittances are important in sustaining people's livelihood and become even more significant during disasters. Meanwhile, the literature suggests that remittances are mainly accessible to middle and upper-income households, rather than to the poorest, thus implying differential capacities amongst households to overcome crises. The present study uses cyclone Evan that hit Samoa in December 2012 as a case study to test this hypothesis. It focuses on the village of Tafitoala and draws on interviews and participatory activities undertaken with the poorest households of the community. It indicates that the poor receive little to no remittances and that they struggled more than the rest of the community to cope with and recover from the cyclone. Their lack of access to remittances had negative consequences on the security and sustainability of their livelihoods. We conclude that remittances reproduce or even increase both inequalities and vulnerabilities existing within the community of origin.

Suggested Citation

  • L. Le De & J. C. Gaillard & W. Friesen, 2015. "Poverty and Disasters: Do Remittances Reproduce Vulnerability?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(5), pages 538-553, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:51:y:2015:i:5:p:538-553
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2014.989995
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Taylor, J. Edward & Mora, Jorge & Adams, Richard H., Jr. & Lopez-Feldman, Alejandro, "undated". "Remittances, Inequality and Poverty: Evidence from Rural Mexico," Working Papers 60287, University of California, Davis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    2. Adams, Richard H. Jr. & He, Jane J., 1995. "Sources of income inequality and poverty in rural Pakistan," Research reports 102, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Sanket Mohapatra & George Joseph & Dilip Ratha, 2012. "Remittances and natural disasters: ex-post response and contribution to ex-ante preparedness," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 365-387, June.
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    1. Giulia Bettin & Amadou Jallow & Alberto Zazzaro, 2023. "How Do Monthly Remittances Respond to Natural Disasters in Migrants’ Home Countries?," CSEF Working Papers 673, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    2. Luciana das Dores de Jesus Da Silva & Susanne Kubisch & Mauricio Aguayo & Francisco Castro & Octavio Rojas & Octavio Lagos & Ricardo Figueroa, 2024. "Chilean Disaster Response and Alternative Measures for Improvement," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    3. SeyedSoroosh Azizi, 2021. "The impacts of workers’ remittances on poverty and inequality in developing countries," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 969-991, February.
    4. Tebkieta Alexandra Tapsoba, 2017. "Poverty, disasters and remittances: do remittances and past disasters influence households’ resilience?," CERDI Working papers halshs-01512716, HAL.
    5. Andrea Vismara & Ola Ali & Carsten Kallner & Guillermo Prieto-Viertel & Rafael Prieto-Curiel, 2025. "Migrants as First Responders: A Global Estimate of Disaster-Driven Remittances," Papers 2512.16373, arXiv.org.
    6. Tebkieta Alexandra Tapsoba, 2017. "Poverty, disasters and remittances: do remittances and past disasters influence households’ resilience?," Working Papers halshs-01512716, HAL.
    7. Colin D Butler, 2019. "Philanthrocapitalism: Promoting Global Health but Failing Planetary Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, March.
    8. Bettin, Giulia & Jallow, Amadou & Zazzaro, Alberto, 2025. "Responding to natural disasters: What do monthly remittance data tell us?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    9. Tebkieta Alexandra TAPSOBA, 2017. "Poverty, disasters and remittances: do remittances and past disasters influence households’ resilience?," Working Papers 201708, CERDI.
    10. Mallela, Keerti & Singh, Sunny Kumar & Srivastava, Archana, 2023. "Remittances, financial development, and income inequality: A panel quantile regression approach," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 171-186.
    11. Giulia Bettin & Alberto Zazzaro, 2018. "The Impact of Natural Disasters on Remittances to Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(3), pages 481-500, March.
    12. 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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