Book
Vulnerability in Developing Countries

More than a billion people live in extreme poverty. Many face the risk of never escaping from poverty. These risks are exacerbated by natural hazards, ill-health, and macroeconomic volatility. Consequently, vulnerability has become the defining challenge of our times. Despite this there is a need to better understand vulnerability, particularly in developing countries where people do not have the same bulwarks against risks. This volume addresses this need by pulling together essays from leading scholars in the field. It focuses on critical dimensions of vulnerability in developing countries such as the relationship between poverty and vulnerability, and vulnerability arising from ill-health and external shocks. Reflecting the multi-dimensionality of vulnerability, it showcases a variety of methodologies, which offer new perspectives on the use and relevance of the notion of vulnerability in economic development.

Table of contents
  1. 1. Vulnerability in Developing Countries: An Introduction
    Wim Naudé, Mark McGillivray, Amelia U. Santos-Paulino
  2. Part I: Income and Health
    2. Measuring Vulnerability and Poverty: Estimates for Rural India
    Raghav Gaiha, Katsushi Imai
    More Working Paper | Measuring Vulnerability and Poverty
  3. Part I: Income and Health
    3. Vulnerability, Trust and Microcredit: The Case of China’s Rural Poor
    Calum G. Turvey, Rong Kong
    More Working Paper | Vulnerability, Trust and Microcredit
  4. Part I: Income and Health
    4. Assets, Poverty Dynamics and Vulnerability: Evidence from Rural Tajikistan
    Oleksiy Ivaschenko, Cem Mete
    More Working Paper | Asset-Based Poverty in Rural Tajikistan
  5. Part I: Income and Health
    5. Vulnerability, Poverty and Coping in Zimbabwe
    Kate Bird, Martin Prowse
    More Working Paper | Vulnerability, Poverty and Coping in Zimbabwe
  6. Part I: Income and Health
    6. Vulnerability Dynamics and HIV Risk in the Semi-Arid Tropics of Rural Andhra Pradesh
    Valentine Joseph Gandhi, Cynthia Serquina Bantilan, Devanathan Parthasarathy
    More Working Paper | Livelihood Risk from HIV in Semi-Arid Tropics of Rural Andhra Pradesh
  7. Part I: Income and Health
    7. Vulnerability to Hunger: Responding to Food Crises in Fragile States
    Colin Andrews, Margarita Flores
    More Working Paper | Vulnerability to Hunger
  8. Part II: Natural Hazards and Macroeconomic Shocks
    8. Vulnerability of Small-Island Economies: The Impact of “Natural” Disasters in the Caribbean
    Martin Heger, Alex Julca, Oliver Paddison
    More Working Paper | Analysing the Impact of Natural Hazards in Small Economies
  9. Part II: Natural Hazards and Macroeconomic Shocks
    9. Natural Disasters and Remittances: Poverty, Gender and Disaster Vulnerability in Caribbean SIDS
    Marlene Attzs
    More Working Paper | Natural Disasters and Remittances
  10. Part II: Natural Hazards and Macroeconomic Shocks
    10. Growth-oriented Macroeconomic Policies for Small-Island Economies: Lessons from Singapore
    Anis Chowdhury
    More Working Paper | Macroeconomic Policies for Growth in Small Pacific Island Economies
  11. Part III: Conclusion
    11. Vulnerability in Developing Countries: Implications and Conclusions
    Wim Naudé, Mark McGillivray, Amelia U. Santos-Paulino
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Endorsements

'In a world characterized by increasing risks at the micro and macro levels, understanding the determinants of vulnerability is at the cutting edge of poverty research and policy. This volume is a most timely contribution to helping understand how households, economies and states in the developing world are affected by risks and shocks, and what coping mechanisms might help to mitigate this vulnerability'.- Stephan Klasen, Professor of Economics and coordinator of the Courant Research Center Poverty, Equity, and Growth in Developing and Transition Countries, University of Göttingen