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Build Back Better: What Is It, and What Should It Be?

Author

Listed:
  • Noy, Ilan

    (Victoria University of Wellington)

  • Ferrarini, Benno

    (Asian Development Bank)

  • Park, Donghyun

    (Asian Development Bank)

Abstract

The long-term economic consequences of catastrophic disasters are poorly understood. This lacuna is surprising since the long-term effects may be much more important than the short-term emergency phase. In contrast, the policy literature is full of aspirational plans to “build back better” (BBB)—a recovery that leads to improvements above and beyond the predisaster status quo. BBB is clearly multidimensional, but the focus here is the assessment of economic BBB. We first delve into two well-known BBB cases—Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Sichuan province in the People’s Republic of China after its 2008 earthquake. Following that analysis, the central objective of our paper is to propose a more precise and concrete definition of economic BBB. To do so, we propose four criteria against which one should evaluate BBB policies: safety, speed, fairness (inclusiveness), and socioeconomic potential. We conclude by describing each of the four criteria in greater detail.

Suggested Citation

  • Noy, Ilan & Ferrarini, Benno & Park, Donghyun, 2019. "Build Back Better: What Is It, and What Should It Be?," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 600, Asian Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbewp:0600
    as

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    File URL: https://www.adb.org/publications/build-back-better
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rio Yonson & Ilan Noy, 2018. "Measurement of Economic Welfare Risk and Resilience of the Philippine Regions," CESifo Working Paper Series 6953, CESifo.
    2. Eiji Yamamura, 2016. "Natural disasters and social capital formation: The impact of the Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95, pages 143-164, March.
    3. Spencer, Nekeisha & Polachek, Solomon & Strobl, Eric, 2016. "How Do Hurricanes Impact Achievement in School? A Caribbean Perspective," IZA Discussion Papers 10169, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Stanley Smith & Christopher McCarty, 1996. "Demographic effects of natural disasters: a case study of hurricane andrew," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 33(2), pages 265-275, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yarely Aguilar-Perez & Lucelia Rodrigues & Paolo Beccarelli & Renata Tubelo, 2023. "Post-Occupancy Evaluation in Post-Disaster Social Housing in a Hot-Humid Climate Zone in Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-21, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    build back better; disaster; economic impact; long run; recovery;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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