Poverty and Vulnerability - An Interdisciplinary Approach

This paper describes the concepts of poverty and vulnerability as well as the interconnections and differences between them using an interdisciplinary approach. While poverty is a static concept, vulnerability has a forward-looking dimension. We, therefore, review the methodologies that different disciplines use to measure poverty and vulnerability. In particular, the differences between vulnerability to natural disasters, vulnerability to climate change, as well as vulnerability to poverty are highlighted to reflect how vulnerability is perceived in natural sciences as well as in economics. The three case studies from Tajikistan, Malawi, and Europe show how the different dimensions of vulnerability impact on household welfare and livelihoods in developing as well as developed countries.