Date of Award

Spring 5-2-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Economics

First Advisor

Monica Das

Abstract

Hurricanes are becoming more frequent and intense with climate change. In this study, I analyze whether hurricanes over the last twenty years impacted the population growth rates of Florida counties. Theoretical literature associates natural disasters with increased risk aversion, which leads to the argument that disasters decrease population growth. However, studies directly examining the relationship between population growth and various natural disasters yield mixed results. Using a random-effects panel regression model, I find that current year hurricanes decrease the population growth rate of a county by 1.18 percentage points, indicating that Floridians are risk-averse to hurricanes. However, I also find that previous year hurricanes in neighboring counties increase the population growth rate of a county by 0.66 percentage points, signaling a one-year lagged migration of residents from hurricane-impacted counties to nearby counties. Therefore, the state-level effect of hurricanes is not a population decline, but rather a redistribution of population between counties within Florida. Given the results of my study, it is imperative that local governments prioritize climate-resilient infrastructure, affordable insurance, and assistance for vulnerable groups to facilitate disaster recovery and promote long-term stability in communities.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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