The Tempest: Natural Disasters, Early Shocks and Children's Short- and Long-Run Outcomes

(2015), European Economic Review, 80: 280-294 (with E. Deuchert)

This paper analyzes the short- and long-run consequences of a natural disaster on chil-dren's education and health. The particular focus lies on variation in idiosyncratic shocksto households using housing damages caused by a super typhoon as a proxy. Relying onindividual panel data and a setting in which typhoons are a relatively rare event, wefindnegative and persistent effects on children's education but no effects on children's health.Effects on education are likely driven by a shift in parental investments made to cope withthe economic consequences of typhoon damages. Subgroup analysis suggests that resultsare stronger for girls, children with no older siblings, children from poor families, andfamilies with no strong family or social network.