The Impact of Socio-economics and Climate Change on Tropical Cyclone Losses in the USA

Silvio Schmidt, Claudia Kemfert and Peter Höppe

No 824, Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin from DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: Tropical cyclones that make landfall on the coast of the USA are causing increasing economic losses. It is assumed that the losses are largely due to socio-economic developments, i.e. growing wealth and greater settlement of exposed areas. However, it is also thought that the rise in losses is caused by increasing frequency of severe cyclones resulting from climate change. The object of this paper is to investigate how sensitive the losses are to socio-economic changes and climate changes and how these factors have evolved over the last 50 years. We will then draw conclusions about the part the factors concerned play in the observed increase in losses. For analysis purposes, storm loss is depicted as a function of the value of material assets affected by the storm (the capital stock) and storm intensity. The findings show the increase in losses due to socio-economic changes to have been approximately three times greater than that due to climate-induced changes.

Keywords: tropical cyclones; climate change; socio-economic impact; storm damage function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20 p.
Date: 2008
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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