The Effect of Natural Disasters on Economic Activity in US Counties: A Century of Data

Leah Boustan, Matthew Kahn, Paul Rhode and Maria Lucia Yanguas

No 23410, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: More than 100 natural disasters strike the United States every year, causing extensive fatalities and damages. We construct the universe of US federally designated natural disasters from 1920 to 2010. We find that severe disasters increase out-migration rates at the county level by 1.5 percentage points and lower housing prices/rents by 2.5–5.0 percent. The migration response to milder disasters is smaller but has been increasing over time. The economic response to disasters is most consistent with falling local productivity and labor demand. Disasters that convey more information about future disaster risk increase the pace of out-migration.

JEL-codes: N42 Q5 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env, nep-his, nep-mig, nep-res and nep-ure
Note: DAE EEE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

Published as Leah Platt Boustan & Matthew E. Kahn & Paul W. Rhode & Maria Lucia Yanguas, 2020. "The Effect of Natural Disasters on Economic Activity in US Counties: A Century of Data," Journal of Urban Economics, .

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Journal Article: The effect of natural disasters on economic activity in US counties: A century of data (2020)
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