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Public Infrastructure and Regional Resilience: Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Flu in Germany

Mona Foertsch and Felix Roesel

No 10705, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Can public infrastructure help regions to mitigate large shocks? We examine how hospital infrastructure contributes to regional resilience in the event of serious health emergencies. During the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, four out of every 1,000 Germans died. We find lower influenza mortality rates and no political reaction in cities and rural areas with adequate hospital infrastructure. In contrast, rural areas without adequate infrastructure absorb shocks poorly, and voters punish the governing parties in the next elections. We conclude that public infrastructure can mitigate large external shocks, especially in rural regions.

Keywords: public infrastructure; resilience; health shocks; Spanish flu; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 I10 O18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-hea, nep-his and nep-ure
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