As damage and loss caused by natural hazards have increased worldwide over the past several decades, it is important for governments and aid agencies to have tools that enable effective post-disaster livelihood recovery to create self-sufficiency for the affected population. This study employs a comparative case study with a mixed method to compare the critical factors affecting livelihood recovery following disasters. Data were collected following the 2013 Lushan earthquake in China and the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake in New Zealand. The results show that the common factors from the comparative case study given by the respondents from both Lushan in China and Kaikoura in New Zealand are "community safety", "availability of family support", "level of community cohesion", "external housing recovery support", "level of a housing recovery", and "availability of health and wellbeing support". Factors that are only in Lushan include "access to income generation assets", "level of community participation in decision making", and "availability of skills training programmes". Factors that are in Kaikoura not in Lushan included "effective governance", "availability of social welfare support from the government", and "distance to scenic spots". Based on the differences and similarities between different factors, this study suggests various stakeholders require more international knowledge and policy sharing, effective communicative mechanisms and the promotion of livelihood transformation process.

Livelihood plays an indispensable role in sustainable community development. Previous studies of sustainable livelihood have focused on the factors that contribute to the vulnerability or resilience of livelihood, but there is limited understanding of the factors that determine people's livelihood restoration after a major disaster. By using a mixed method, combined interviews with questionnaires, this research has quantified the critical factors that influence the livelihood recovery of local communities affected by the Lushan earthquake in 2013, China. The statistical analysis shows that the most highly ranked top four factors are access to income generation assets, external housing recovery support, the level of community participation in decision making, and availability of family support. Factor analysis further suggested that the 16 critical factors identified fall into four categories, namely: 1) government policies; 2) access to resources; 3) social cohesion; 4) individual characteristics. For livelihood recovery to be embedded in the long-term sustainable development of earthquake-affected communities in Lushan, it is important to address the sustainable development through a proper knowledge transfer process including training, education, and more novel community services.

Due to China’s exposure and susceptibility to natural hazards, it is important for governments and aid agencies to have tools that enable effective post-disaster livelihood recovery in creating self-sufficiency for the affected population. This paper introduces a framework of critical components that constitute a successful livelihood recovery by studying the perceptions and perspectives of those affected by the 2013 Lushan earthquake in Sichuan Province. A mixed method, namely a pilot study, questionnaire survey and interviews, was used. While the populations surveyed valued the employment benefits of creating new market and economic sectors in areas where rural farming was predominant prior to the earthquake, they considered that recovery of their housing was most essential for livelihood diversification. External assistance was also regarded highly in assisting with livelihood recovery, in which family ties and social connections seemed to have played a larger role than that of government agencies and NGOs. Lastly, the results highlighted that a goal of livelihood recovery cannot be achieved without individual well-being being considered, in relation to people’s perceptions about quality of life and their physical and mental health. This paper aims to assist the Chinese policy makers and practitioners in disaster recovery in setting an agenda of preparing for livelihood recovery in peace times, or of post-disaster recovery planning should a disaster event occurs so that the economic impact and livelihood burdens of those affected can be effectively mitigated.