Natural disasters, risk and migration: evidence from the 2017 Pohang earthquake in Korea‡

Hyejin Kim and Jongkwan Lee

Journal of Economic Geography, 2023, vol. 23, issue 5, 1017-1035

Abstract: Using the 2017 Pohang earthquake in South Korea as a natural experiment, we examined the responses of the population. By constructing a counterfactual of Pohang using synthetic controls, we found that the earthquake significantly decreased the local population. To investigate the mechanisms of population decrease, we gathered administrative data on the universe of address changes and self-reported reasons for migration. While out-migration due to changes in the residential environment increased significantly, job-related migration showed little change. This out-migration also led to a depreciation in rental housing prices. Our results suggest that local residents perceived the earthquake as a negative amenity.

Keywords: Earthquake; migration; housing price; South Korea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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