Which household characteristics help mitigate the effects of extreme weather events? Evidence from the 1998 floods in Bangladesh

Abstract

Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. Bangladesh is a vulnerable country due to its geography, topography, poverty and low adaptive capacity. This chapter focuses on the potential for household characteristics to mitigate the effects of natural shocks. Using a panel dataset of the 1998 floods from the International Food Policy Research Institute, an econometric methodology was developed using three ordinary least squares (OLS) models. This approach helped identify the effects of the floods and to assess which characteristics influenced household welfare outcomes. The primary focus was on household calorie consumption but we also reflected on local migration (as both a dependent and independent variable). However, limitations in the dataset restricted a full investigation of migration.