Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/235088 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
KOF Working Papers No. 474
Publisher: 
ETH Zurich, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, Zurich
Abstract: 
During the last decades, the United States experienced an increase in the number of natural disasters as well as their destructive capability. Several studies suggest a damaging effect of natural disasters on income. In this paper, I estimate the effects of natural disasters on the entire income distribution using county-level data in the United States. In particular, I determine the income fractions that are affected by natural disasters. The results suggest that natural disasters primarily affect middle incomes, thereby leaving income inequality levels mostly unchanged. In addition, the paper examines potential channels that intensify or mitigate the effects, such as social security or the severity of natural disasters. The findings show that social security, assistance programs and migration are important adaptation tools that reduce the effects of natural disasters. In contrast, the occurrence of multiple and severe disasters aggravate the effects.
Subjects: 
Disaster
Income Distribution
United States
Migration
Panel Data
JEL: 
D63
O51
Q54
R23
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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