Measuring Vulnerability

Ligon, Ethan; Schechter, Laura

doi:10.1111/1468-0297.00117

Cited by 340 publications

(177 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Some studies on vulnerability have used panel data collected over a long period due to the forward-looking nature of the concept of vulnerability [11,25]. However, other studies have shown that cross section data can also be used in estimating vulnerability to poverty [12,14,16,26-29].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health and vulnerability to poverty in Ghana: evidence from the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 5

et al. 2012

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BackgroundAn understanding of the complex relationship between health status and welfare is crucial for critical policy interventions. However, the focus of most policies in developing regions has been on current welfare to the neglect of forward-looking welfare analysis. The absence of adequate research in the area of future poverty or vulnerability to poverty has also contributed to the focus on current welfare. The objectives of this study were to estimate vulnerability to poverty among households in Ghana and examine the relationship between health status and vulnerability to poverty.MethodThe study used cross section data from the Fifth Round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 5) with a nationally representative sample of 8,687 households from all administrative regions in Ghana. A three-step Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) estimation procedure was employed to estimate vulnerability to poverty and to model the effect of health status on expected future consumption and variations in future consumption. Vulnerability to poverty estimates were also examined against various household characteristics.ResultsUsing an upper poverty line, the estimates of vulnerability show that about 56% of households in Ghana are vulnerable to poverty in the future and this is higher than the currently observed poverty level of about 29%. Households with ill members were vulnerable to poverty. Moreover, households with poor hygiene conditions were also vulnerable to future poverty. The vulnerability to poverty estimates were, however, sensitive to the poverty line used and varied with household characteristics.ConclusionThe results imply that policies directed towards poverty reduction need to take into account the vulnerability of households to future poverty. Also, hygienic conditions and health status of households need not be overlooked in poverty reduction strategies.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vulnerability to poverty is seen widely as a better future oriented/forward-looking measure of welfare [11-15]. The only study that analysed ex-ante welfare or vulnerability to poverty in Ghana did not consider the impact of health shocks [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health and vulnerability to poverty in Ghana: evidence from the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 5

et al. 2012

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“…3 Since poverty is such a widely used and recognized indicator of socioeconomic status, and because expected poverty has a cardinal interpretation and is more easily interpretable than utility-based measures (e.g., the measure proposed by Ligon and Schechter, 2003), conceptualizing vulnerability in terms of expected poverty seems a reasonable route to take in assessing ex ante household welfare. Using the poverty headcount ratio introduced in Foster et al (1984), it can be shown that vulnerability as expected poverty reduces to simply the cumulative distribution of income below the poverty line, or simply the probability of poverty.…”

Section: The Measurement Of Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Transient Poverty, Poverty Dynamics, and Vulnerability to Poverty: An Empirical Analysis Using a Balanced Panel from Rural China

Ward

2016

World Development

129

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China’s economic reforms starting in the late 1970s have resulted in rapid economic growth, with annual growth in gross domestic product averaging greater than 10 percent per year for more than thirty years. Accompanying this rapid growth in national accounts have been rapid and widespread reductions in poverty. With these reductions in poverty, however, there has often been observed an increase in income inequality, both between as well as within rural and urban sectors. This rising income gap challenges the notion that economic reforms in China have been as successful as the poverty statistics would suggest. In this paper, we suggest that an alternative view would be to consider the effects of these reforms on changing the chronic nature of poverty and reducing household vulnerability to poverty. Using a balanced panel from rural China from 1991 through 2006, we find that most poverty among our sample has shifted from being chronic in nature to being transient, with households either shifting into a state of being non-poor moving in and out of poverty. Among our sample, vulnerability to poverty has been declining over time, but the declines are not uniform over time or space. We decompose household vulnerability status into two proximate causes: low expected income and high income variability, finding vulnerability increasingly due to income variability. Additionally, we demonstrate that vulnerable households have very different characteristics than non-vulnerable households.

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“…In addition, women are at more risk of contagious diseases due to their closer contact with the sick family members. Other evidences showed that gender of the head of household have no effect on the vulnerability, but those households are subjected to greater aggregate risks (Ligon and Schechter, 2003).…”

Section: Dpm 234mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability to flood-induced public health risks in Sudan

Bashier

Routray

2014

Disaster Prevention and Management

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyze flood vulnerability vis-à-vis flood-induced health risks, and understand the relationship between them to suggest measures to reduce health risks in Sudan. Design/methodology/approach -This study compares the vulnerability to flood and health consequences in two communities in Aroma. This study compares the vulnerability of Aroma semi-urban vicinity and Tendellei rural village, in Sudan, to flood and health consequences. A set of socioeconomic and health indicators were studied in 251 households. Households were classified according to their calculated vulnerability composite index. The index was validated through comparing the vulnerability values with the level of impact in each household. Findings -About 30 percent of households are highly/very highly vulnerable to flood risk. On the other hand, 41 percent of the rural households and 25 percent of the semi-urban houses are highly/very highly vulnerable to health risks. The main determinants of flood vulnerability are; the number of earning family members, level of education and economic activity of the household's head. The rural households are found to be more vulnerable to health risks while semi-urban households are more vulnerable to flooding. Flood and health vulnerabilities are positively correlated. Factors like urbanization, poverty and education directly affect the vulnerability of communities.Research limitations/implications -The methodology could be strengthened through the running of multi-various regression to relate selected vulnerability indicators to incidence of malaria and diarrhea in each household. Practical implications -The method described in this paper is flexible; applicable and can be reproduced for other areas and risks. Social implications -Vulnerability determinants affect the two communities differently and this necessitates specific consideration when developing policy. The policy should tackle the root causes of vulnerability to cut the vicious circle of poverty, illiteracy and illness. Those root causes should be managed by integrating multi-hazard approaches for effective and efficient interventions. Originality/value -The method described in this paper is original, flexible; applicable and can be reproduced for other areas and risks.

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Measuring Vulnerability

Cited by 340 publications

References 7 publications

Health and vulnerability to poverty in Ghana: evidence from the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 5

Health and vulnerability to poverty in Ghana: evidence from the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 5

Transient Poverty, Poverty Dynamics, and Vulnerability to Poverty: An Empirical Analysis Using a Balanced Panel from Rural China

Vulnerability to flood-induced public health risks in Sudan

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