Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/110740 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9026
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
While various empirical studies have found negative growth-effects of natural disasters, little is yet known about the microeconomic channels through which disasters might affect short- and especially long-term growth. This paper contributes to filling this gap in the literature by studying how natural disasters affect individual saving decisions. This study makes use of a natural experiment created by the European Flood of August 2002. Using micro data from the German Socio-Economic Panel that we combine with geographic flood data, we compare the savings behavior of affected and non-affected individuals by using a difference-in-differences approach. Our empirical results indicate that natural disasters depress individual saving decisions, which might be the consequence of a Samaritan's Dilemma.
Subjects: 
natural disasters
floods
growth
saving behavior
difference-in-differences approach
JEL: 
Q54
D14
O16
H84
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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