"Benefit-cost analyses of disaster risk reduction (DRR) projects are an important tool for evaluating the efficiency of such projects, and an important input into decision making. These analyses, however, often fail to monetize the benefits of reduced death and injury. The authors review the...

"Increasing adult mortality due to HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa raises considerable concerns about the welfare of surviving children. Studies have found substantial variability across countries in the negative impacts of orphanhood on child health and education. One hypothesis for this...

The poor health status of Russia's economically active adult population-its human capital-is imperiling sustainable economic and social development. What factors contribute to the excessive mortality, ill health, and disability in Russia, particularly among working-age adults? What are the...

Recognizing that this agenda spans virtually all of the World Bank's policy areas, this brief focuses on policies under the purview of the World Bank's Social Protection and Jobs (SPJ) agenda, especially those related to employment and skills development. Within the Bank, the productive...

"The event of a natural disaster, and being directly affected by it, brings a large shock to life-cycle outcomes. In addition to the replacement effects of higher fertility following a disaster that caused high mortality, a positive fertility response may be induced as children can be used to...

"The authors interviewed commuters in Delhi, India, asking them to report their willingness to pay (WTP) to reduce their risk of dying in road traffic accidents in each of three scenarios that mirror the circumstances under which the majority of the road fatalities in Delhi occur. The WTP...

"Recent literature and new data help determine plausible bounds to some key demographic differences between the poor and non-poor in the developing world. The author estimates that selective mortality-whereby poorer people tend to have higher death rates-accounts for 10-30 percent of the...

Over 529,000 women die annually from complications during pregnancy, childbirth, or the postpartum period. Nearly all of these deaths occur in developing countries, where fertility rates are higher and a woman's life time risk of dying during pregnancy and childbirth is over 400 times higher...