The economic impact of Hurricane Katrina on its victims: Evidence from individual tax returns

Tatyana Deryugina, Laura Kawano, Steven Levitt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Hurricane Katrina destroyed over 200,000 homes and led to massive economic and physical dislocation. Using a panel of tax return data, we provide one of the first comprehensive analyses of the hurricane's long-term economic impact on its victims. Hurricane Katrina had large and persistent impacts on where people live, but small and surprisingly transitory effects on employment and income. Within just a few years, Katrina victims' incomes actually surpass that of controls from similar unaffected cities. The strong economic performance of Hurricane Katrina victims is particularly remarkable given that the hurricane struck with essentially no warning.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)202-233
Number of pages32
JournalAmerican Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Volume10
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Economics, Econometrics and Finance

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