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Coping or adapting? Exploring regional priority of capacity building for disaster resilience

An ChenFollow

Document Type

Research-Article

Author

Yanan Chen, Ran Yi, Jiahe Li, An Chen

Journal Name

Journal of Cleaner Production

Keywords

Adaptation, Coping Capacity, Disaster Risk Reduction, Loss Aversion, Resilience, Disasters, Economics, Investments, Regional Planning, Adaptation, Adaptive Capacity, Capacity Building, Coping Capacity, Disaster Resiliences, Disaster Risk Reductions, Loss-aversion, Regional Priorities, Resilience, Socio-economics, Efficiency

Abstract

Coping and adaptive capacities are both crucial to enhancing disaster resilience, yet they differ in attributes, durations, and functions. Facing different natural and socio-economic context, regional policy priorities show different reactions. While existing scholarship broadly emphasizes the transition from coping to adaptive capacity, the extent to which capacity is prioritized in resilience strategies remains unclear. To address the gap, the study systematically examines their differences in capacity development, policy concern and interaction with disaster losses. Drawing on the cumulative prospect theory, the study explored the mechanism behind the regional preference. Using data on coping capacity, adaptive capacity, and disaster losses from 31 provincial-level regions in mainland China, the study assessed capacity-building dynamics and regional variations through text mining, interaction effects analysis, and the super-efficiency SBM-DEA model with undesirable outputs. Results showed that (1) the average value of coping capacity (0.307) is generally higher than adaptive capacity (0.304), and showed a spatial difference of eastern > central > western China. (2) Disaster losses had significant influence on coping capacity, while their influence on adaptive capacity showed a delayed and cumulative pattern over time. (3) The efficiency of building coping capacity (0.610) is higher than adaptive capacity (0.562). These findings indicate a wealth effect, whereby more developed regions exhibit stronger capacities. Due to the concealed nature of adaptive capacity and loss aversion tendency, short-term coping capacities are more developed in most regions. Given these disparities, this study underscores the need for policy interventions that strike a balance between short-term disaster response and long-term adaptation investments, ultimately promoting high-quality and sustainable development. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146502

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