Do natural disasters stimulate individual saving? Evidence from a natural experiment in a highly developed country
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.
Year of publication: |
2015
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Authors: | Berlemann, Michael ; Steinhardt, Max ; Tutt, Jascha |
Publisher: |
Berlin : Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW) |
Subject: | natural disasters | floods | growth | saving behavior | difference-in-differences approach |
Saved in:
freely available
Series: | |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Type of publication (narrower categories): | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Other identifiers: | 827944551 [GVK] hdl:10419/111088 [Handle] |
Classification: | Q54 - Climate; Natural Disasters ; D14 - Personal Finance ; O16 - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment ; h84 |
Source: |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011282366