TEDxRSM: Bram Van den Bergh

We’ve all seen the shocking number of bodies piled in the streets of Tacloban, Philippines. Even as the death toll of typhoon Haiyan climbs, the truth is that there is a greater number of survivors in dire need of medical assistance, shelter and drinking water. Strikingly, when deciding to donate money and deciding how much, donors are influenced more by the number of fatalities in a natural disaster than the number of survivors. Assistant Professor Bram van den Bergh, reveals in his TEDxRSM talk that the higher the death toll in natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes, the bigger the donations. People are more generous when the number of fatalities is relatively high.