Economic Evidence for Proactive Management of Extreme Weather Disaster Risks: A Global Systematic Review Across Strategies, Hazards, and Settings

Growing extreme weather risks increase the need for economically justified investment in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction, yet evidence remains fragmented across strategies, hazards, and settings. This systematic review synthesised economic effectiveness and stated-preference evidence for proactive management of extreme weather risks. Six electronic search platforms covering eight database sources were searched for English-language peer-reviewed studies from January 2015 to May 2025. Heterogeneity required narrative synthesis rather than meta-analysis. Fifty-three unique studies were included: 32 contributed economic effectiveness evidence, 23 contributed stated-preference evidence, and two contributed to both evidence strands. Among the 32 economic effectiveness studies, 15 reported favourable conclusions, 15 mixed or conditional conclusions, one an unfavourable conclusion, and one an unclear conclusion. All 23 stated-preference studies reported positive willingness to pay, willingness to purchase or related stated demand, indicating expressed demand or perceived value rather than demonstrated economic effectiveness. Economic conclusions frequently depended on site, design, scale, time horizon, discounting, valuation boundaries, and modelling assumptions. Economic effectiveness evidence was absent for community-based and risk-financing strategies and concentrated on flood risk, Asia, and North America. Economic and financial factors were the most common barriers, whereas social and cultural factors were the most common facilitators. Investment decisions should consider evidence type, robustness, assumptions, and context.