The Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Labor Market Outcomes of Evacuees

Abstract

We use data from the Current Population Survey collected both before and after Hurricane Katrina to estimate the impact of Katrina on the labor market outcomes of evacuees. Our estimates are based on a difference-in-differences strategy that compares evacuees to residents of Katrina-affected areas prior to Katrina, with non-evacuees and residents of areas that were unaffected by Katrina as a control group. We estimate that Katrina had substantial effects on the labor market outcomes of evacuees over the 13-month period immediately following Katrina. However, our estimates suggest that the effects of Katrina diminished substantially over time as evacuees recovered from the hurricane and adjusted to new economic and social conditions. Evacuees who did not return to their pre-Katrina areas have fared much worse in the labor market than have those who returned. Differences in individual and family characteristics account for some of the differences in outcomes between returnees and non-returnees. However, we present evidence that non-returnees have fared much worse in the labor market primarily because they came from areas that experienced greater housing damage due to the storm and thus were more likely to be displaced from their jobs.

The Economic Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Its Victims: Evidence from Individual Tax Returns

“…2 1 Approximately 60 percent of evacuees from Louisiana returned to their pre-hurricane addresses within 14 months (Groen and Polivka 2008b). Gregory (2014) estimates that the Louisiana state government's Road Home program, which provided money to residents to rebuild and protect their homes from future storm damage, increased the rate of rebuilding damaged homes by 8 percent.…”

The Effect of the L'Aquila Earthquake on Labour Market Outcomes

“…Exploiting the additional questions included in the CPS following Katrina, these studies have the advantage relative to previous research of being able to observe the labour market status of individuals who, as a result of the storm, were displaced to other parts of the affected regions or had to relocate to other regions of the US. Groen and Polivka (2008) conclude that Katrina had quite significant negative effects on the labour market outcomes of evacuees in the 13 month period following the hurricane. Specifically, they estimate that it reduced the labour force participation by 3.5 percentage points, lowered the employment-population ratio by 7.1 percentage points, and increased the unemployment rate by 6.3 percentage points.…”

Emergency Department Utilization in the Texas Medicaid Emergency Waiver

“…Immediately following Katrina, over 1.5 million individuals evacuated from the Gulf Coast (Groen & Polivka, 2008). Overnight, cities like Houston prepared for the influx of Katrina evacuees and set up temporary shelters that were also equipped to provide medical care.…”