In this paper, we propose a comprehensive Public Choice framework to identify and categorize barriers to efficient public climate adaptation. Specifically, we distinguish three dimensions of public adaptation: extent, structure (form and timing) and organisation (vertical and horizontal). Within...

The powerful typhoon Haiyan that swept across the Philippines is one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall, cut a path of destruction through several central islands, causing scores of people dead. The disaster's full impact is still revealing as the entire country has been caught in a...

Applying a difference-in-differences framework to a census of residential property transactions in New York City 2003-2017, we estimate the price effects of three flood risk signals: 1) the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, which increased premiums; 2) Hurricane Sandy; and 3) new...

Hurricanes are among the costliest natural disasters in the world, with a significant portion of their impact linked to the accuracy of their forecasts. In this paper, we estimate the economic impacts of the official hurricane forecasts in the US and develop a new approach for measuring the...

Natural disasters are on the rise worldwide. There are more and more intense natural disasters — which are defined to cause at least 100 deaths or to affect the basic survival needs of at least 1,000 people — resulting from floods and storms as well as droughts and heat waves. The Asia and...

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence for man-made climate change, many people remain skeptical. While this phenomenon of `climate-skepticism' prevents implementation of environmental policies around the globe, it is ignored in economic models of climate change. In this paper I fill this gap...

Integrated assessment models (IAMs) are economists' primary tool for analyzing the optimal carbon tax. Damage functions, which link temperature to economic impacts, have come under fire because of their assumptions that may be incorrect in significant, but a priori unknowable ways. Here I...

The possibility of low-probability extreme events has reignited the debate over the optimal intensity and timing of climate policy. In this paper we therefore contribute to the literature by assessing the implications of low-probability extreme events on environmental policy in a continuous-time...

The powerful typhoon Haiyan that swept across the Philippines is one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall, cut a path of destruction through several central islands, causing scores of people dead. The disaster's full impact is still revealing as the entire country has been caught in a...