Laboratory

Population Dynamics and Sustainable Well-Being

At a Glance Projects Publications Team

Project

Methodological Improvements to the Study of Social Vulnerability

Carolina Coimbra Vieira, Rumi Chunara (New York University, USA), Ronak Paul (International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India), Sean Reid (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA), Christopher Wolfe (University of Nevada, Reno, USA), Yan Zhang (University of Oxford, United Kingdom), Yuan Zhao (New York University, USA)

This project improves our understanding of social vulnerability. We use standardized data across countries and develop new methodologies that leverage emerging machine-learning techniques.  Detailed Description

Social Vulnerability Index scores across administrative units in eight countries - Cambodia, Nepal, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Senegal, Morocco, and USA

Maps of Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) scores on each administrative unit. Each administrative unit is visualized by vulnerability using a standard deviation representation similar to Cutter et al. (2003). Places with SoVI values between -1 and 1 standard deviations from the mean are shown in gray and indicate neutral vulnerability. Scores greater than 1 standard deviation above the mean are shown in orange and red indicating higher vulnerability. Scores less than -1 standard deviation below the mean are shown in light and dark blue indicating lower vulnerability. All SoVI scores were computed using the same harmonized IPUMS variables, except for the United States, and the scale is standardized across all countries. Countries are displayed in the following order: A. Cambodia, B. Nepal, C. Costa Rica, D. Panama, E. Dominican Republic, F. Senegal, G. Morocco, and H. USA © Paul, R., et al. (2023). Methodological Improvements in Social Vulnerability Index Construction Reinforce Role of Wealth Across International Contexts.

Publications

Zhao, Y.; Paul, R.; Reid, S.; Coimbra Vieira, C.; Wolfe, C.; Zhang, Y.; Chunara, R.:

Constructing social vulnerability indexes with increased data and machine learning highlight the importance of wealth across global contexts

Social Indicators Research. (2024)    

Paul, R.; Reid, S.; Coimbra Vieira, C.; Wolfe, C.; Zhao, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Chunara, R.:

Methodological improvements in social vulnerability index construction reinforce role of wealth across international contexts

MPIDR Working Paper WP-2023-017. (2023)