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

Journal of Urban Economics, 2020, vol. 118, issue C

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.

Keywords: Natural disasters; Migration; Housing markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Working Paper: The Effect of Natural Disasters on Economic Activity in US Counties: A Century of Data (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:juecon:v:118:y:2020:i:c:s0094119020300280

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2020.103257

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