Vulnerability to Poverty

JÜRGEN BRÜNJES Research Associate and lecturer at the Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography, Leibniz University Hannover, GermanyBERND HARDEWEG Post-doc Research Associate at the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, GermanyVERA JUNGE Research Associate at the Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography at Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany NIELS KEMPER Post-doctoral Researcher at the University of Mannheim, GermanyCARMEN KISLAT Research Fellow at the Institute of Money and International Finance at Leibniz Universität Hannover, GermanyRAINER KLUMP Professor of Economics, Economic Development and Economic Integration at the Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany, since 2000KAI MAUSCH Associate Professional Officer at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), currently based in MalawiTOBIAS LECHTENFELD Research Associate at the Development Economics Research Group at the University of Göttingen, Germany INGO LIEFNER Professor of Economic Geography at Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany LUKAS MENKHOFF Professor of Money and International Finance at Leibniz Universität Hannover, GermanyTUNG DUC PHUNG Development Economist and chairman of the Indochina Research and Consulting Company (IRC) in Hanoi, VietnamFELIX POVEL PhD at the Development Economics Research Group at the University of Göttingen, GermanySUWANNA PRANEETVATKUL Associate Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, atthe Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, ThailandJAVIER REVILLA DIEZ Professor of Economic Geography at Leibniz University of Hannover, GermanyORNSIRI RUNGRUXSIRIVORN Senior Economist at the Ministry of Finance in ThailandDOMINIK SCHMID Junior Policy Advisor at the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Eschborn, GermanyERICH SCHMIDT was Professor and Director of the Institute of Market Analyses and Agricultural Policy at the School of Economics and Management at the Leibniz University of Hannover in Germany until his retirement in 2006SONGPORNE TONGRUKSAWATTANA PhD in Development and Agricultural Economics from Leibniz Universität Hannover, GermanyMARC VOELKER Statistical Office of the State Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

• Defining and Measuring Vulnerability: State of the Art and New Proposals; S.Klasen & F.Povel Establishing a Database for Vulnerability Assessment; B.Hardeweg , S.Klasen & H.Waibel Using Household Surveys to Capture Vulnerability: Issues and Challenges; S.Klasen , T.Lechtenfeld & F.Povel Mapping Vulnerability: Extending Static Poverty Maps for Vietnam; T.Lechtenfeld Rural-Rural Differences in Vietnamese Pro-Poor Growth: Does Households' Income Composition Make a Difference? K.Mausch , J.Diez & R.Klump Impact of Food Price Shocks on Vulnerability to Poverty: A Mathematical Programming Approach; M.Völke , S.Tongruksawattana , E.Schmidt & H.Waibel Agricultural Diversification and Vulnerability to Poverty: A Comparison between Vietnam and Thailand; S.Praneetvatakul , T.Phung & H.Waibel Ex-post Coping Strategies of Rural Households in Thailand and Vietnam; S.Tongruksawattana, V.Junge , H.Waibel , J.Diez & E.Schmidt Financial Shock-Coping in Rural Thailand and Vietnam; N.Kemper , R.Klump , L.Menkhoff & O.Rungruxsirivorn The Village Fund Loan Program: Who Gets It, Keeps It and Loses It; C.Kislat & L.Menkhoff Participation in Regional Non-Farm Wage Activities: Evidence from Thailand and Vietnam; J.Brünjes , D.Schmid , J.Diez & I.Liefner

'By bringing together conceptual clarity, new and original data, and careful analysis of how households both deal with risk ex ante, and cope with shocks ex post, this volume makes an important contribution to the economic analysis of vulnerability to poverty. The book brings welcome coherence and comprehensiveness to a field which is often characterized by partial and fragmented approaches. It should be read not only by those who focus on Thailand and Vietnam, but by anyone interested in how risk and volatility interact with poverty, how households respond, and how policy-makers can help them to do so more effectively.' Francisco H. G. Ferreira, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank'The method of directly tackling the measurement of expectations of risks and shocks, as done in this book, opens up some extremely exciting avenues for research that may allow for a better understanding of the connection between risk and subjective welfare.' Ethan Ligon, University of Berkeley, USA'Despite some success in the battle against poverty across the world, the risk of falling into poverty remains high for billions of people, facing shocks that can devastate their lives. This collection of essays is a splendid contribution to poverty analysis, dealing with conceptual, diagnostic and policy issues." Amartya Sen, Harvard University, USA'Applying vulnerability to poverty concepts to real data remains a serious challenge. This book offersa set of strong papers taking on this challenge, identifying the many empirical problems in vulnerability research and suggests ways to overcome them. ' Stefan Dercon, Professor of Development Economics, Oxford.