Distributional impacts of disaster recovery: Sri Lankan households a decade after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of recovery from the 2004 tsunami on income and consumption distribution across households in Sri Lanka, using a quasi-quantile regression method and other inequality measures. The analysis finds that the income of households in the entire distribution has recovered, with low-income households increasing their income by a higher proportion compared to the higher income households. The paper also observes that the affected regions appear more income-equal ex-post compared to the unaffected regions. Household consumption recovered in short and medium-term favoring both high and low-income households compared to those in the middle-income category. Nonetheless, long-lasting recovery of consumption appears only among high income households.