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A non-monetary global measure of the direct impact of natural disasters

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  • Noy, Ilan

Abstract

The standard way in which disaster damages are measured involves examining separately the number of fatalities, of injuries, of people otherwise affected, and the financial damage that natural disasters cause. Here, we propose a novel way to aggregate measures of disaster impact, which aims to overcome many of the difficulties previously identified in the literature. This new index is similar, but conceptually different, from the World Health Organization’s calculation of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) lost from the burden of diseases and injuries (WHO, 2013). We convert all measures of impact into “lifeyears” units. After analyzing worldwide trends in lifeyears lost to disasters, we conclude with a very preliminary assessment of the likely impact, in lost lifeyears, of the current Ebola epidemic in the three most affected countries in West Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Noy, Ilan, 2015. "A non-monetary global measure of the direct impact of natural disasters," Working Paper Series 19262, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    • Handle: RePEc:vuw:vuwecf:19262
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    File URL: https://ir.wgtn.ac.nz/handle/123456789/19262
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Angelika Wirtz & Wolfgang Kron & Petra Löw & Markus Steuer, 2014. "The need for data: natural disasters and the challenges of database management," 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. 70(1), pages 135-157, January.
    2. Eduardo Cavallo & Sebastian Galiani & Ilan Noy & Juan Pantano, 2013. "Catastrophic Natural Disasters and Economic Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1549-1561, December.
    3. Eduardo Cavallo & Ilan Noy, 2009. "The Economics of Natural Disasters: A Survey," Research Department Publications 4649, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
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