The Death Toll from Natural Disasters: The Role of Income, Geography and Institutions

Using a new data set on annual deaths from natural disasters in 48 nations from 1980 to 1999, this paper tests several hypotheses concerning disaster mitigation. While richer nations do not experience fewer natural disaster shocks than poorer nations, richer nations do suffer less death from disaster. Democracies and nations with higher quality institutions suffer less death from natural disaster. The results are relevant for judging the...