The Death Toll from Natural Disasters: The Role of Income, Geography and Institutions: Comment

Eiji Yamamura ()

Economics Bulletin, 2012, vol. 32, issue 2, 1545-1554

Abstract: Kahn (2005) found that ethnic heterogeneity reduces the number of deaths caused by natural disasters, a finding that is contrary to theoretical predictions. This paper casts doubt on this finding and conducts a re-estimation. To control for measurement problems, I have used not only an ethnic fractionalization index but also an ethnic polarization index to capture ethnic heterogeneity. The key finding is that ethnic polarization is positively related to number of deaths, while ethnic fractionalization is not. This implies that ethnic polarization is a more appropriate measure for ethnic heterogeneity than ethnic fractionalization.

Keywords: Deaths; Natural disaster; Ethnic fractionalization; Ethic polarization; Legal origin; Institution. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-05-23
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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