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Household vulnerability on the frontline of climate change: The Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu

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  • Taupo, Tauisi
  • Cuffe, Harold
  • Noy, Ilan

Abstract

This paper investigates the vulnerability of households to climatic disasters in the low-lying atoll nation of Tuvalu. Small Island Developing States, particularly the atoll islands, are considered to be the most vulnerable to climatic change, and in particular to sea-level rise and its associated risks. We construct poverty and hardship profiles for households on the different islands of Tuvalu, and combine these with geographic and topographic information to assess the exposure differentials among different groups using spatial econometric models. Besides the observation that poor households are more vulnerable to negative shocks because they lack the resources to respond, we also find that they are also more likely to reside in highly exposed areas to disasters (closer to the coasts and at lower elevation) and have less ability to migrate (between and within the islands).

Suggested Citation

  • Taupo, Tauisi & Cuffe, Harold & Noy, Ilan, 2016. "Household vulnerability on the frontline of climate change: The Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu," Working Paper Series 19500, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    • Handle: RePEc:vuw:vuwecf:19500
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    2. Tauisi Taupo & Ilan Noy, 2017. "At the Very Edge of a Storm: The Impact of a Distant Cyclone on Atoll Islands," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 143-166, July.
    3. Ryota Nakatani, 2019. "A Possible Approach to Fiscal Rules in Small Islands — Incorporating Natural Disasters and Climate Change," IMF Working Papers 2019/186, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Ryota Nakatani, 2021. "Fiscal Rules for Natural Disaster- and Climate Change-Prone Small States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-26, March.
    5. Ilan Noy, 2017. "To Leave or Not to Leave? Climate Change, Exit, and Voice on a Pacific Island," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 63(4), pages 403-420.
    6. Ilan Noy, 2017. "To Leave or Not to Leave? Climate Change, Exit, and Voice on a Pacific Island," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 63(4), pages 403-420.
    7. Alvina Erman & Elliot Motte & Radhika Goyal & Akosua Asare & Shinya Takamatsu & Xiaomeng Chen & Silvia Malgioglio & Alexander Skinner & Nobuo Yoshida & Stephane Hallegatte, 2020. "The Road to Recovery the Role of Poverty in the Exposure, Vulnerability and Resilience to Floods in Accra," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 171-193, April.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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