Occupational and asset adjustments in Tamil Nadu, India: The role of a finance and rebuilding program

Abstract

Financial inclusion is important for long-term recovery from natural disaster-driven losses when access to safety nets or informal assistance fades away. We examine how an intervention promoting access to finance has altered primary occupations and asset accumulation among smallholders affected by the 2004 tsunami in Tamil Nadu, India, 16 years after the initial event. We show that the program increased professional jobs as a primary occupation by 38 percent while reducing household chores as a primary occupation by 7 percent. These impacts may have been driven by increased access to loans and improved social capital facilitated by the program. Our results suggest that access to financial interventions can help adaptation and resilience-building through adjusting occupations and asset accumulation in the long run.