Who Receives Relief Aid? Understanding the Effects of Household Income and Education on Aid in Nepal

Abstract

Risk and vulnerability of a community towards environmental or nonenvironmental shocks determine their ability to receive relief aid. This study aims to understand the effect of socioeconomic factors such as income and education on a household’s ability to receive aid from government, nonprofit, and informal sources in Nepal. I study the World Bank panel data from 2016 to 2018 to analyze the effects of various shocks, and socioeconomic statuses on a household’s ability to receive aid from different sources using fixed effects linear model. Results find that shocks significantly affect aid received by households. Environmental shocks show greater dependence on government and nonprofit aid, whereas nonenvironmental shocks increase aid from informal sources. The availability of government or nonprofit aid in previous years significantly enhances access to them in later years. Education is found to be a key determinant in both increasing awareness of aid as well as reducing reliance on them. This study indicates policy development for enhancing education and aid management, especially for nonenvironmental shocks, in Nepal.