Why Some Don’t Belong—The Distributional Effects of Natural Disasters

Author/Editor:

Nina Budina ; Lixue Chen ; Laura Nowzohour

Publication Date:

January 6, 2023

Electronic Access:

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Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary:

When and how do natural disasters worsen within-country income inequality? We highlight the channels through which natural disasters may have distributional effects and empirically analyze when and which type of disasters affect inequality in advanced economies (AEs) and in emerging and developing economies (EMDEs). We find that in AEs inequality increases after severe disasters. We also find that inequality increases if severe disasters are associated with growth slowdowns or there are multiple disasters in a year in AEs and in EMDEs. Descriptive evidence for the US also suggests that adverse labor market effects of disasters are likely to fall on vulnerable groups.

Series:

Working Paper No. 2023/002

Subject:

Frequency:

regular

English

Publication Date:

January 6, 2023

ISBN/ISSN:

9798400229428/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA2023002

Pages:

49

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