Box 4.7 Three Factors Determine the Household Impact of a Death

The overall economic impact of an adult death on the surviving household members varies according to three sets of characteristics:

• those of the deceased individual, such as age, sex, income, and cause of death

• those of the household, such as composition and assets

• those of the community, such as attitudes toward helping needy households and the availability of resources.

The first set of characteristics determines the basic impact of the death on the surviving household members; the second and third influence how well the afflicted household copes. Although disentangling the three is very difficult, it is nonetheless important when attempting to assess the household impact of an adult death to consider all three sets of factors.