Alejandro del Valle is Assistant Professor of Risk Management & Insurance at Georgia State University. He will present his work titled “Saving Lives with Indexed Disaster Funds: Evidence from Mexico”.

Developing economies are not disproportionately exposed to natural disasters, but they experience significantly more deaths. Exploiting a discontinuity in the eligibility rules to Mexico’s indexed disaster fund (Fonden), I show that the accelerated reconstruction of public infrastructure can significantly mitigate the mortality impacts of disasters. Fonden’s impact is concentrated in areas with medical infrastructure and among conditions responsive to basic and freely available medical care. These findings suggest that Fonden operates by restoring access to health services. I also show that Fonden is cost-effective relative to other interventions and that its benefit-cost ratio is at least 3.2.

The seminar can also be viewed virtually. Please use this link to view.