To say that the level of fatalities resulting from an earthquake is inversely related to a country's per capita level of income is hardly novel. What makes our approach novel is that we relate fatalities to both per capita income and the level of inequality that exists within a country through...

In general, given a particular set of institutions, the greater a county’s per capita income, the more extensive will be its provision of goods and services that require concerted public action. We contend that one of the most important aspects of institutions in this regard is public sector...