Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/230354 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
ADB Economics Working Paper Series No. 600
Publisher: 
Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila
Abstract: 
The long-term economic consequences of catastrophic disasters are poorly understood. This lacuna is surprising since the long-term effects may be much more important than the short-term emergency phase. In contrast, the policy literature is full of aspirational plans to "build back better" (BBB) - a recovery that leads to improvements above and beyond the predisaster status quo. BBB is clearly multidimensional, but the focus here is the assessment of economic BBB. We first delve into two wellknown BBB cases - Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Sichuan province in the People's Republic of China after its 2008 earthquake. Following that analysis, the central objective of our paper is to propose a more precise and concrete definition of economic BBB. To do so, we propose four criteria against which one should evaluate BBB policies: safety, speed, fairness (inclusiveness), and socioeconomic potential. We conclude by describing each of the four criteria in greater detail.
Subjects: 
build back better
disaster
economic impact
long run
recovery
JEL: 
H54
Q54
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.