Vulnerability in Developing Countries

Book excerpt: Vulnerability has become the defining challenge of our times. More than one billion people worldwide live in extreme poverty. Facing risks exacerbated by natural hazards, ill-health and macroeconomic volatility, many are mired in inescapable poverty while millions others are on the brink of poverty.The need to better understand vulnerability is pressing, particularly in the case of developing countries where bulwarks against risks can be in short supply. This volume brings together essays from leading scholars to study the critical dimensions of vulnerability in developing countries, including...