Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282667 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16540
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We analyze the exposure of different income groups to the 2021 floods in Germany, which serve as an exemplary case of natural disasters intensified by anthropogenic climate change. To this end, we link official geo-coded satellite data on flood-affected buildings to neighborhood-level information on socio-economic status. We then document the empirical relationship between flood damages and household income. We limit comparisons to the vicinity of affected rivers and absorb a rich set of regional fixed effects to assess the differential exposure at the local level. Average household income is around 1,500 euros or three percent lower in flood-affected neighborhoods than in non-affected neighborhoods nearby. Our study is the first to document this regressive exposure along the income distribution based on actual flood damage data in Europe.
Subjects: 
climate change
differential exposure
floods
income distribution
JEL: 
Q52
Q54
D30
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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