Full Citation
Title: THE IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA MIGRATION ON LOW-WAGE LABOR MARKETS
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2009
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Abstract: Hurricane Katrina forced the evacuation of 1.5 million Gulf Coast residents, and a year later at least 406,000 were still displaced. Individuals who did not return were disproportionately less skilled workers, and areas that absorbed a large number of evacuees experienced an exogenous low-wage labor supply shock. Therefore, Hurricane Katrina migration created a natural experiment to examine outcomes of unskilled local labor markets. I estimated the change in employment status and hourly wage in Houston and Baton Rouge, compared to other areas in the southern U.S. region, using March CPS data over the 2003-2008 period. I found a significant yet minimal decline in the probability of employment for the 3 year period after the storm; I found no evidence of an effect on wages. Additional analysis by year revealed a significant increase for these outcomes in 2007 and 2008. My results are not inconsistent with studies that found little or no evidence of negative effects on local labor market outcomes. Hurricane landfall trends and climate change predictions indicate that large-scale natural disasters will continue to occur. This study offers insight to inform future disaster migration studies.
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Authors: Liliedahl, Erika
Institution: Georgetown University
Department: Public Policy
Advisor: Katie Fitzpatrick
Degree: Masters of Public Policy
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Pages: 71
Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Natural Resource Management
Countries: United States