Daniel J. Clarke is an actuary and development economist who works as a Senior Insurance Specialist in the Disaster Risk Financing & Insurance Program, a joint program between the World Bank Group and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. Over the last decade he has worked with more than twenty developing country governments to develop efficient, cost-effective solutions for enhanced financial protection against disasters. He has a first class degree from Cambridge University in Mathematics in Computer Science and a D.Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

Stefan Dercon is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford, and a Professorial Fellow of Wolfson College. He is also Chief Economist of the UK Department for International Development. Previously he taught in Belgium and at the University of Addis Ababa. His interest is in applying microeconomics and statistics to problems of development. He has worked on risk and poverty, agriculture and rural institutions, political economy, childhood poverty, social and geographic mobility, micro-insurance, and measurement issues related to poverty and vulnerability.

• 1: Dealing with Disasters: It Should and Can Get Better


• 2: Defining the Problem: Begging Bowls and Benefactors


• 3: Bring in the Professionals


• 4: Planning for Disaster Recovery: Changing the Default Setting


• 5: Finance as the Glue


• 6: Moving Forward . . .


• Glossary


• Notes


• References