Research progress on deprivation costs in humanitarian logistics

The field of humanitarian logistics (HL) is attracting an increasing number of scholars. Among the most prominent and promising contributions in this area in recent years was the introduction of the concept of deprivation costs, which is the first attempt to directly quantify human suffering in HL operations. We review the recent literature on deprivation costs in HL, and its implications from a discussion of key issues. This study samples recent literature, applying a four-step systematic review method. The state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-practice of deprivation costs are analyzed. We discuss the key issues in deprivation cost research from the following six perspectives: (1) methodological approaches estimated; (2) the application of deprivation cost; (3) goods or services estimated; (4) differences in estimation; (5) challenges and obstacles; and (6) the gap between the state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-practice. Insights for future research are also discussed.