Amir Jina
Exposure to abnormal floods is believed to have negative short- and long-term consequences for welfare and health in poor countries, and such impacts are likely to grow worse with continued anthropogenic climate change. However, two common proxies for flood exposure, self-reported exposure and rainfall, are problematic. This paper describes a method for constructing objective measures of flood exposure using satellite data. Using the case of Bangladesh in the period 2002-2011, we show that (a) self-reported exposure has an important, non-random bias in that it responds much more strongly to actual exposure in areas where floods are relatively rare, and (b) rainfall is at best weakly correlated with floods.
Areas of Focus: Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment
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Climate Change
Climate change is an urgent global challenge. EPIC research is helping to assess its impacts, quantify its costs, and identify an efficient set of policies to reduce emissions and adapt...
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Climate Science
EPIC’s interdisciplinary team of researchers is contributing to a cross-cutting body of knowledge on the scientific causes of climate change and its social consequences.
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Environment
Producing and using energy damages people’s health and the environment. EPIC research is quantifying the social costs of energy choices and uncovering policies that help protect health while facilitating growth.