Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/319526 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research No. 1224
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), Berlin
Abstract: 
This paper employs a panel event study design to examine the causal effects of the 2013 flood disaster in East Germany on subjective well-being. We merge geo-spatial flood data with longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to identify individuals in affected municipalities. Our results show that those affected by the flood report a significant life satisfaction drop of 0.17 points on an 11-point scale, which is equivalent to a 2.5% fall from pre-flood levels, in the year after the flood. The effect is more severe in peripheral areas than in central areas, and for low-income individuals than for high-income individuals. However, the effect dissipates by 2015. Additionally, we observe a notable initial decrease in health satisfaction, followed by recovery, while financial satisfaction was largely unaffected.
Subjects: 
natural disasters
flood
quality of life
life satisfaction
health satisfaction
financial satisfaction
JEL: 
I31
Q51
Q54
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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