%0 Report
        %A Berlemann, Michael
%A Steinhardt, Max F.
%A Tutt, Jascha
        %T Do Natural Disasters Stimulate Individual Saving? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in a Highly Developed Country
        %D 2015
        %8 2015 Apr
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 9026
        %U https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp9026
        %X While various empirical studies have found negative growth-effects of natural disasters, little is yet known about the microeconomic channels through which disasters might affect short- and especially long-term growth. This paper contributes to filling this gap in the literature by studying how natural disasters affect individual saving decisions. This study makes use of a natural experiment created by the European Flood of August 2002. Using micro data from the German Socio-Economic Panel that we combine with geographic flood data, we compare the savings behavior of affected and non-affected individuals by using a difference-in-differences approach. Our empirical results indicate that natural disasters depress individual saving decisions, which might be the consequence of a Samaritan's Dilemma.
        %K natural disasters
%K floods
%K growth
%K saving behavior
%K difference-in-differences approach