We examine Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the aftermath of large natural disasters in developing countries between 1970 and 2008. We find that while ODA increases significantly compared to pre-disaster flows, the typical surges are small in relation to the size of the affected...

Catastrophes caused by natural disasters are by no means new, yet our evolving understanding regarding their relevance to economic development and growth is still at its infancy. In order to facilitate further necessary research on this topic, we summarize the state of the economic literature...

We examine the short and long run average causal impact of catastrophic natural disasters on economic growth by combining information from comparative case studies. We assess the counterfactual of the cases studied by constructing synthetic control groups taking advantage of the fact that the...

Why do people save? A strand of the literature has emphasized the role of ‘precautionary' motives; i.e., private agents save in order to mitigate unexpected future income shocks. An implication is that in countries faced with more macroeconomic volatility and risk, private saving should be...

Emerging economies are characterized by an extremely high prevalence of informality, small-firm employment and jobs not fit for working from home. These features factor into how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the economy. We develop a framework that, based on accounting identities and actual...

We study the daily behavior of supermarket prices and product availability following two recent natural disasters: the 2010 earthquake in Chile and the 2011 earthquake in Japan. In both cases there was an immediate and persistent effect on product availability. The number of goods available for...

This paper uses a dynamic optimization model to estimate the welfare gains that a small open economy can derive from insuring against natural disasters with catastrophe (CAT) bonds. We calibrate the model by reference to the risk of earthquakes, floods and storms in developing countries. We find...

Openness to trade is one factor that has been identified as determining whether a country is prone to sudden stops in capital inflow, currency crashes, or severe recessions. Some believe that openness raises vulnerability to foreign shocks, while others believe that it makes adjustment to crises...

We investigate the output effects of severe banking and currency crises in emerging markets, focusing on whether twin crises (simultaneous occurrence of currency and banking crises) exist as a unique phenomenon and whether they entail especially large losses. Recent literature, mostly relating...

We investigate the output effects of severe banking and currency crises in emerging markets, focusing on whether "twin crises" (simultaneous occurrence of currency and banking crises) exist as a unique phenomenon and whether they entail especially large losses. Recent literature, mostly relating...