Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future: Impacts of Education and Experience on Disaster Preparedness in the Philippines and Thailand
Open accessAbstract
This study aims at understanding the role of education in promoting disaster preparedness. Strengthening resilience to climate-related hazards is an urgent target of Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Preparing for a disaster such as stockpiling of emergency supplies or having a family evacuation plan can substantially minimize loss and damages from natural hazards. However, the levels of household disaster preparedness are often low even in disaster-prone areas. Focusing on determinants of personal disaster preparedness, this paper investigates: (1) pathways through which education enhances preparedness; and (2) the interplay between education and experience in shaping preparedness actions. Data analysis is based on face-to-face surveys of adults aged ≥15 years in Thailand (N = 1,310) and the Philippines (N = 889, female only). Controlling for socio-demographic and contextual characteristics, we find that formal education raises the propensity to prepare against disasters. Using the KHB method to further decompose the education effects, we find that the effect of education on disaster preparedness is mainly mediated through social capital and disaster risk perception in Thailand whereas there is no evidence that education is mediated through observable channels in the Philippines. This suggests that the underlying mechanisms explaining the education effects are highly context-specific. Controlling for the interplay between education and disaster experience, we show that education raises disaster preparedness only for those households that have not been affected by a disaster in the past. Education improves abstract reasoning and anticipation skills such that the better educated undertake preventive measures without needing to first experience the harmful event and then learn later. In line with recent efforts of various UN agencies in promoting education for sustainable development, this study provides a solid empirical evidence showing positive externalities of education in disaster risk reduction.
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Individual disaster preparedness is a key aspect of resilience in low- and middle-income countries.
“Individual disaster preparedness is a key aspect of resilience in low- and middle-income countries (Hoffmann and Muttarak 2017), where rescue and disaster management systems often do not have sufficient capacities for immediate and efficient disaster response.”
From Disaster preparedness and resilience at household level in Yangon, Myanmar (2022) · cites this paper as Hoffmann and Muttarak 2017
This result exceeds numbers from the Philippines and Thailand, where 50% and only 14.4% of the population stockpile food, as well as from Hong Kong, where 57.3% store food.
“This result exceeds numbers from, e.g. the Philippines and Thailand, where 50% and only 14.4% of the population stockpile food (Hoffmann and Muttarak 2017), as well as from Hong Kong, where 57.3% store food (Tam et al. 2018).”
From Disaster preparedness and resilience at household level in Yangon, Myanmar (2022) · cites this paper as Hoffmann and Muttarak 2017
The passages returned from the indexed copy are bibliographic entries, not findings about food stockpiling. Searches for “14.4%,” “stockpile food,” and the Philippines and Thailand percentages found no passage verifying the two figures attributed to Hoffmann and Muttarak. The Hong Kong figure is attached to a different citation and is not part of this verdict. (LLM, conf=0.70)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredStudies have pointed out the positive impact on disaster preparedness of formal education, such as in nursery schools, schools and universities, and informal education, such as community-based methods to reduce disaster risks.
“In fact, studies have pointed out the positive impact on disaster preparedness of formal education, such as in nursery schools, schools and universities (Hoffmann and Muttarak 2017), and informal education, such as community-based methods to reduce disaster risks (Allen 2006; Maskrey 2011).”
From Disaster preparedness and resilience at household level in Yangon, Myanmar (2022) · cites this paper as Hoffmann and Muttarak 2017
The searches for formal education, schooling, and disaster preparedness returned only the paper’s abstract and metadata, not a passage from its full text. Under the specified evidence rule, those results cannot establish what the paper says about formal education in nursery schools, schools, or universities. The informal-education clause is attributed to other sources and is not judged here. (LLM, conf=0.65)
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Cites
Understanding differences in health behaviors by education
Cutler, D. M., & Lleras-Muney, A. (2010) · Journal of Health Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2009.10.003 · Cited by 1,920 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Furthermore, education can enhance the acquisition of knowledge, values and priorities as well as the capacity to plan for the future and to allocate resources efficiently (Cutler & Lleras-Muney, 2010; Kenkel, 1991).”
BackgroundIndividual differences in adult decision-making competence.
Bruine de Bruin, W., Parker, A. M., & Fischhoff, B. (2007) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.5.938 · Cited by 906 · see citing works
The Tenure Trap: The Vulnerability of Renters to Joint Natural and Technological Disasters
Burby, R. J., Steinberg, L. J., & Basolo, V. (2003) · Urban Affairs Review · doi:10.1177/1078087403253053 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Developmental shifts in fMRI activations during visuospatial relational reasoning
Eslinger, P. J., Blair, C., Wang, J., Lipovsky, B., Realmuto, J., Baker, D., Thorne, S., Gamson, D., Zimmerman, E., Rohrer, L., et al. (2009) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2008.04.010 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
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Hoffmann, R., Šedová, B., & Vinke, K. (2021) · Global Environmental Change · doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102367 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Self-citationPublic perception of climate change and disaster preparedness: Evidence from the Philippines
Bollettino, V., Alcayna-Stevens, T., Sharma, M., Dy, P., Pham, P., & Vinck, P. (2020) · Climate Risk Management · doi:10.1016/j.crm.2020.100250 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Disaster preparedness and resilience at household level in Yangon, Myanmar
Heinkel, S.-B., Thiebes, B., Than, Z. M., Aung, T., Kyi, T. T., Mar, W. L., Oo, S. S., Miller, C., Willkomm, M., Maung, W., et al. (2022) · Natural Hazards · doi:10.1007/s11069-022-05226-w · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Than, Z. M., Oo, H. M., Aung, T., Kyi, T. T., Oo, S. S., Mar, W. L., Willkomm, M., Miller, C., Martini, S., Myint, Z. N., et al. (2023) · ERDKUNDE · doi:10.3112/erdkunde.2023.04.04 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Camargo, J. P., Guevara-Corzo, J., & Torres-Peña, J. A. (2026) · Urban Science · doi:10.3390/urbansci10100603
- Authors
- Hoffmann, R., & Muttarak, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Vienna (AT)
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- Venue
- World Development
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-08
- Volume
- 96
- Pages
- 32-51
- ISSN
- 0305-750X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2604494705
- Cited by
- 439
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 46 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 58 · 2023: 73 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 66 · 2020: 60 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 5
- FWCI
- 63.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- World Development (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- ePubWU Institutional Repository (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- IIASA PURE (International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis) (submittedVersion)
- UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Austrian Science Fund (Z 171)
- Chulalongkorn University (RES560530150-CC)
- FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (230195)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Disaster Management and Resilience
- Social Sciences › Transportation › Earthquake and Disaster Impact Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Flood Risk Assessment and Management
- Keywords
- disaster preparedness, education, disaster experience, social capital, disaster risk perception, climate resilience, disaster risk reduction, household preparedness, mediation analysis, Philippines, Thailand, SDG 13
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