| By: |
Sann VATHANA (Council for Agrictultural and Rural Development, Social Protection Coordination Unit, Cambodia (CARD-SPCU));
Sothea OUM (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East-Asia (ERIA));
Ponhrith KAN (CARD-SPCU);
Colas CHERVIER (CARD-SPCU) |
| Abstract: |
The pattern of risks faced by the poor and vulnerable in rural areas of
Cambodia, as a consequence of natural disaster, is posing an increasing threat
to their livelihoods. One third of the past three years has been taken up
either with flooding or with drought, and the drought periods were more
prolonged than the floods. The damage caused by flood and drought was
comparable, although the flood of 2011 was the most extensive of the
disasters. This paper presents impacts of disasters on household welfare and
the linking of social protection interventions to address the entitlement
failure of poor and vulnerable people suffering from the impacts of flood and
drought. There is a strong need at the policy level to design social
protection interventions to emphasize ex-ante instruments rather than the ex
post response to natural disasters as focusing on emergency assistance and
relief. Cash transfers programs provide direct assistance in the form of cash
to the poor. Ex-ante cash transfer programs can play a crucial role in
encouraging poor households to invest in business rather than spending on
food. Microfinance schemes can also help ex-ante income diversification that
can bolster households against widespread natural disasters. |
| Keywords: |
Natural disaster, Entitlement failure |
| JEL: |
Q54 I31 H55 O53 |
| Date: |
2013–08 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:era:wpaper:dp-2013-10&r=mfd |