2010/07/21 by Eduardo A. Cavallo, Andrew Powell, Óscar Becerra · 205 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Agricultural risk and resilience #Disaster Management and Resilience #Insurance and Financial Risk Management #Damages #Political science #Law
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2010.02378.x
published in The Economic Journal 120(546), F298-F312 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2010/07/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
This article makes an initial assessment of the monetary damages caused by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Damages are estimated for a disaster with both 200,000 and 250,000 total dead and missing, using Haiti’s economic and demographic data. The base estimate is US8.1bn, but for several reasons this may be a lower‐bound estimate. While the results are subject to many caveats, including possibly high forecast error, the implications of such an estimate are significant. Raising such a figure will require many donors. Hence excellent coordination of funding and execution will be key to ensuring the efficient use of funds.