Natural disaster experience does not affect environmental attitudes or prosociality: Evidence from the 2021 flood in Germany

Nils Christian Hönow, Kiran Karki and Maximilian N. Burger

No 1147, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: In July 2021, severe floods devastated parts of Germany, causing numerous casualties and extensive damage to property and infrastructure. As climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events, understanding their social implications is crucial. Using data from three nationwide surveys, we examine the impact of the 2021 flood on environmental attitudes, pro-environmental behaviors, and the support for climate-related policies across a wide range of indicators. Results reveal no statistically significant effects, regardless of the estimation methods or measures of flood exposure used. We additionally investigate the flood's effect on prosociality, assessed through measures such as past charitable donations and incentivized decisions in a dictator game. Similarly, we find only limited variation in prosociality, but with impacts differing based on whether respondents in affected areas also sustained damage to their households. These findings challenge the expectation that direct exposure to natural disasters increases environmental awareness and prosocial behavior.

Keywords: Natural disaster; flood; environmental awareness; environmental attitudes; environmental behavior; climate policy; prosociality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D64 D91 Q54 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:rwirep:314410

DOI: 10.4419/96973330

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