The paper employs statistical hypothesis tests to explore the question of whether natural hazards (hail and tornadoes being considered here) are or are not intertemporally random. The answer to this question, at least for these two hazards, is surprising and has important policy implications:...

This study investigates the short- and long-run impact on population dynamics of the major flood in the Netherlands in 1953. A dynamic difference-in-differences analysis reveals that the flood had an immediate negative impact on population growth, but limited long term effects. In contrast, the...

In recent years, certain states facing a high probability of catastrophic hurricane and earthquake exposures have added the burden of socializing the risk of individual and business property losses instead of leaving these private actions subject to voluntary insurance markets. In turn, these...

Having achieved an export led exponential economic growth, Singapore remains vulnerable to both natural disasters and economic crises. One significant public health crisis that impacts Singapore's economy is the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. Another crisis of...

Disasters could damage the economy and market. Many studies inquire how a calamitous event changes household risk perception and home value to understand the hazard’s influence on expected utility. A remaining challenge is identifying equalizing difference, a necessary spatial equilibrium...

The recent literature on the determinants of populism has highlighted the role of long-term trends of progressive isolation and prolonged economic stagnation in engendering discontent and, in turn, demand for political change. We investigate, instead, the potential of unanticipated local shocks...

This is the first study to provide pre- and post-treatment family-level data on the impact of volcano eruptions on domestic violence. I use data from 2,024 families in Indonesia, of which a subset has been exposed to two eruptions. Findings confirm an increase in domestic violence of four...

The actions the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency in the months following Hurricane Katrina are critiqued, with an emphasis on how private-sector responses would have differed. We conclude that a large and bureaucratized response to disasters hinders economic calculation, incentive...

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 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...