Valuing Human Impact of Natural Disasters: A Review of Methods
Aditi Kharb,
Sandesh Bhandari,
Maria Moitinho de Almeida,
Rafael Castro Delgado,
Pedro Arcos González and
Sandy Tubeuf
Additional contact information
Aditi Kharb: Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), Universite Catholique de Louvain, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
Sandesh Bhandari: Department of Medicine, University of Oviedo, 3204 Oviedo, Spain
Maria Moitinho de Almeida: Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), Universite Catholique de Louvain, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
Rafael Castro Delgado: Department of Medicine, University of Oviedo, 3204 Oviedo, Spain
Pedro Arcos González: Department of Medicine, University of Oviedo, 3204 Oviedo, Spain
IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-11
Abstract:
This paper provides a comprehensive set of methodologies that have been used in the literature to give a monetary value to the human impact in a natural disaster setting. Four databases were searched for relevant published and gray literature documents with a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty-seven studies that quantified the value of a statistical life in a disaster setting or discussed methodologies of estimating value of life were included. Analysis highlighted the complexity and variability of methods and estimations of values of statistical life. No single method to estimate the value of a statistical life is universally agreed upon, although stated preference methods seem to be the preferred approach. The value of one life varies significantly ranging from USD 143,000 to 15 million. While an overwhelming majority of studies concern high-income countries, most disaster casualties are observed in low- and middle-income countries. Data on the human impact of disasters are usually available in disasters databases. However, lost lives are not traditionally translated into monetary terms. Therefore, the full financial cost of disasters has rarely been evaluated. More research is needed to utilize the value of life estimates in order to guide policymakers in preparedness and mitigation policies.
Keywords: human impact; lost lives; value of statistical life; natural disasters (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:18:p:11486-:d:913176
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