Publication: Poverty and Floods in Cap-Haïtien
Loading...
Files in English
356 downloads
Date
2020-02-28
ISSN
Published
2020-02-28
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Nested in a bay, the Cap-Haïtien, Haiti second largest city, is home to a large river basin characterized by rapid and uncontrolled urbanization and fears devastating floods during the rainy season. In Haiti, frequent and severe adverse natural events affect negatively households, and even more the poorest. In Cap-Haïtien, high structural vulnerability of infrastructure and high exposure to floods, increasing households’ vulnerability to falling into poverty traps. The purpose of this report is to describe the nature of floods in Cap-Haïtien and its relationship with poverty. The report is structured as follows, the authors begin with a brief literature review of the nexus between exposure, vulnerability and resilience to natural disasters, and poverty. In section 3, the authors describe the data beginning with the socio-economic characteristics of households in Cap-Haïtien including their demographics, nature of their dwellings, economic activities. In section 4, the authors examine the exposure of households to floods by describing the profiles of affected households. Section 5 examines the vulnerability of households to floods by using simple regressions to estimate the effects of floods on household welfare and the heterogeneity of the impact across households. In section 6, the authors examine households’ resilience to floods by describing the strategies used to prepare for and cope with floods. The concluding section focuses on implications of the results.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2020. Poverty and Floods in Cap-Haïtien. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34165 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Natural Disaster Risk Management in the Philippines : Enhancing Poverty Alleviation Through Disaster Reduction(Washington, DC, 2005-10)The Philippines by virtue of its geographic circumstances is highly prone to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tropical cyclones and floods, making it one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. This report seeks to document the impacts of natural disasters on the social and economic development of the Philippines; assess the country's current capacity to reduce and manage disaster risk; and identify options for more effective management of that risk. The Philippine institutional arrangements and disaster management systems tend to rely on a response, or reactive approach, in contrast to a more effective proactive approach, in which disasters are avoided, by appropriate land-use planning, construction and other pre-event measures which avoid the creation of disaster-prone conditions. To evolve to a more proactive role, it is important that a national framework for comprehensive disaster risk management be prepared and implemented. The framework should incorporate the essential steps of integrated risk management, which include risk identification, risk reduction, and risk sharing/financing. The study identified some specific areas under these key themes that would need to be addressed to improve the current system, discussed through the study. The study also found that currently, the Government and individual households bear the majority of costs caused by natural disasters. More effective options for financing disaster risk, and relieving the burden of disasters from the public sector should be explored, including the idea of a catastrophe insurance pool, and/or contingent credit facilities. Also found was that, despite the high hazard risk in the Philippines, the insurance coverage for residential dwellings' catastrophes is almost non-existent. It is stipulated the Bank should examine the ongoing portfolio to identify how its projects can support the goal of disaster risk reduction. In addition, the Bank should consider more direct support to the development of an integrated disaster management risk approach, through the provision of technical assistance and lending.Publication Potential for Application of a Probabilistic Catastrophe Risk Modelling Framework to Poverty Outcomes(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-06)This paper analyzes the potential to combine catastrophe risk modelling (CAT risk modeling) with economic analysis of vulnerability to poverty using the example of drought hazard impacts on the welfare of rural households in Ethiopia. The aim is to determine the potential for applying a derived set of damage (vulnerability) functions based on realized shocks and household expenditure/consumption outcomes, onto a forward-looking view of drought risk. The paper outlines the CAT risk modeling framework and the role of the vulnerability module, which describes the response of an affected exposure to a given hazard intensity. The need to explicitly account for different household characteristics that determine vulnerability within our model is considered, analogous to how a CAT risk model would differentiate damage functions for buildings by different classes of construction. Results for a regression model are presented, estimating ex-post drought impacts on consumption for heterogeneous household types (e.g. with cattle, safety-net access, illness). Next, the validity/generalizability of the derived functions are assessed, to infer applicability of the derived relationships within a CAT risk modelling framework. In particular, the analysis focuses on external validity: whether the relationships established in the dataset can be used for forecasting outside of the sample used for analysis. The model is stress-tested using statistical methods of resampling. This involves randomly splitting the data into “training” and "testing" datasets. The tests show consistency of results across the datasets. Finally, future plans are outlined with regard to developing a fuller catastrophe risk model to combine with the consumption results.Publication Assessing Socioeconomic Resilience to Floods in 90 Countries(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-05)This paper presents a model to assess the socioeconomic resilience to natural disasters of an economy, defined as its capacity to mitigate the impact of disaster-related asset losses on welfare, and a tool to help decision makers identify the most promising policy options to reduce welfare losses due to floods. Calibrated with household surveys, the model suggests that welfare losses from the July 2005 floods in Mumbai were almost double the asset losses, because losses were concentrated on poor and vulnerable populations. Applied to river floods in 90 countries, the model provides estimates of country-level socioeconomic resilience. Because floods disproportionally affect poor people, each $1 of global flood asset loss is equivalent to a $1.6 reduction in the affected country's national income, on average. The model also assesses and ranks policy levers to reduce flood losses in each country. It shows that considering asset losses is insufficient to assess disaster risk management policies. The same reduction in asset losses results in different welfare gains depending on who benefits. And some policies, such as adaptive social protection, do not reduce asset losses, but still reduce welfare losses. Asset and welfare losses can even move in opposite directions: increasing by one percentage point the share of income of the bottom 20 percent in the 90 countries would increase asset losses by 0.6 percent, since more wealth would be at risk. But it would also reduce the impact of income losses on wellbeing, and ultimately reduce welfare losses by 3.4 percent.Publication The Poverty and Welfare Impacts of Climate Change Quantifying the Effects, Identifying the Adaptation Strategies(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012-07-20)The continued decline in global poverty over the past 100 years particularly in the past three decades is a remarkable achievement. In 1981, 52 percent of the world population lived on less than $1.25 a day. By 2005, that rate had been cut in half, to 25.0 percent, and by 2008 to 22.2 percent (World Bank 2012). Preliminary estimates for 2010 indicate that the extreme poverty rate has fallen further still; if follow-up studies confirm this, the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving world poverty will have been reached five years early (World Bank 2010). In recent years, poverty reduction has continued in most countries, even after the financial, food, and fuel shocks of 2008-09. Although poverty remains widespread in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, progress has been substantial: extreme poverty fell in South Asia from 54 percent in 1990 to 36 percent in 2008 (World Bank 2012). In Sub-Saharan Africa, where population growth exceeded the rate of poverty reduction, the number of extremely poor people increased from 290 million in 1990 to 356 million in 2008, yet over 2005-08, the region's poverty rate nonetheless 'fell 4.8 percentage points to less than 50 percent the largest drop in Sub-Saharan Africa since international poverty rates have been computed,' according to the latest edition of the World Development Indicators (WDI) (World Bank 2012). Although progress has been slower at the $2-a-day poverty line, the WDI noted that an increase in the absolute number of people living on $1.25-$2.00 a day reflects both the upward movement from extreme poverty and 'the vulnerabilities still faced by a great many people in the world.' climate change is likely to reduce agricultural productivity, especially in the tropical regions, and to directly affect poor people's livelihood assets including health, access to water and other natural resources, homes, and infrastructure (World Bank 2010). Moreover, increasing climatic variability manifesting as more frequent and erratic weather extremes, or 'weather shocks' will likely make poor households even more vulnerable, which could in turn exacerbate the incidence, severity, and persistence of poverty in developing countries. This volume not only surveys the research terrain concerning the effects of climate change on poverty but also looks closely at vulnerable rural populations (in a developing country, Indonesia, and in the newly industrialized Mexico) where weather shocks have measurable short term if not immediate effects on the farming livelihoods many depend on for both income and subsistence. The low-income farmers of rice in Indonesia and of corn and other staple crops in Mexico are at the human forefront of climate change.Publication Thai Flood 2011(World Bank, Bangkok, 2012)This report outlines these findings, including damage and loss estimates and social and economic impacts, and proposes strategies for resilient recovery and reconstruction planning. Heavy rain combined with multiple tropical storms throughout the extended rainy season played a large part in the extensive flooding. Flash floods were reported in several areas in the north in May, and tropical depression Haima arrived in June followed by Nock-Ten in July, the combination of which caused widespread flooding. Overall, the floods affected more than 13 million people and resulted in more than 680 deaths. The floods impacted heavily on the private sector, particularly manufacturing. Manufacturing makes up about 38.5 percent of Thailand's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is one of the main drivers of Thailand's exports. The majority of manufacturers are located in five flood-affected provinces, namely Bangkok, Ayuthaya, Nakhon Sawan, Pathum Thani, and Samut Sakhon. Tourism, housing and the financial sector were also heavily affected. Though there was some damage to tourism infrastructure, the greatest impact came from losses in revenue from accommodation, transportation, shopping, food and beverages, entertainment and sightseeing. Recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated to be THB 1.5 trillion (USD 50 billion) over a five-year period.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.