Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/211281 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2019/51
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Mozambique is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world. A bigger than usual, and mostly unexpected, flood occurred in the central-northern region of the country in the first few months of 2015, causing huge damage to infrastructures. In this paper, we use a nationally representative household budget survey that was being carried out in the field during those months to assess the short-term impact of the 2015 flood on household consumption and poverty levels. Applying a difference-in-difference approach, we find that, for those exposed to the flood, consumption reduced significantly in the short term, in the range of 11-17 per cent, depending on the specification. Poor households and households living in rural areas were affected significantly more. Poverty levels also increased due to the flood, by about 6 percentage points. These results are relevant for policy planning, natural disaster management, and for ex ante vulnerability assessment in Mozambique and other risk-prone developing countries with similar characteristics.
Subjects: 
welfare impacts of natural shocks
flood
difference-in-difference
Mozambique
JEL: 
I30
Q51
Q54
Q56
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-685-2
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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