IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/asieco/v87y2023ics1049007823000556.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Health care cost of floods: Evidence from Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Ya-Ming
  • Kuo, Yen-Lien
  • Chu, Hone-Jay
  • Kuo, Wun-Ci
  • Tseng, Hsin-Chieh

Abstract

Using the difference-in-difference (DID) method, this study uses Typhoon Morakot, which occurred in August 2009, as an example to estimate the effect of flooding on health care cost burden. The main data source is the medical claims records of a cohort of three million patients in Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system. By examining flood-related physiological diseases and disaster-related mental illnesses, our results indicate that the increase in outpatient health care costs resulting from the flood caused by the typhoon is approximately NTD 8.95 billion (USD 280 million), equivalent to approximately 69% of the annual special budget for flooding prevention during the period 2006–2019 in Taiwan. Moreover, the increase in outpatient expenditure for mental illnesses is nearly 10 times that of physiological diseases. An important implication of our findings is that the cost of preventing natural disasters, such as floods, can be offset by saving health care costs, particularly for mental illnesses. Our results also suggest that in addition to providing safe drinking water and indoor residual spraying, offering continuous post-disaster mental health services can further save health care expenditures caused by natural disasters.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Ya-Ming & Kuo, Yen-Lien & Chu, Hone-Jay & Kuo, Wun-Ci & Tseng, Hsin-Chieh, 2023. "Health care cost of floods: Evidence from Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:87:y:2023:i:c:s1049007823000556
    DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2023.101635
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049007823000556
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.asieco.2023.101635?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luciana de Resende Londe & Rodrigo Silva Conceição & Tiago Bernardes & Mariane Carvalho de Assis Dias, 2016. "Flood-related leptospirosis outbreaks in Brazil: perspectives for a joint monitoring by health services and disaster monitoring centers," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 84(2), pages 1419-1435, November.
    2. Karlsson, Martin & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2018. "Population health effects and health-related costs of extreme temperatures: Comprehensive evidence from Germany," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 93-117.
    3. Hesam Seyedin & Reza HabibiSaravi & Nasrin sayfouri & Vahid Hoseini Djenab & Fariba Ghasemi Hamedani, 2017. "Psychological sequels of flood on residents of southeast Caspian region," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 88(2), pages 965-975, September.
    4. Michael F. Pesko, 2018. "The Impact Of Perceived Background Risk On Behavioral Health: Evidence From Hurricane Katrina," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(4), pages 2099-2115, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2022. "Energy poverty, temperature and climate change," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Xi Chen & Chih Ming Tan & Xiaobo Zhang & Xin Zhang, 2020. "The effects of prenatal exposure to temperature extremes on birth outcomes: the case of China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 1263-1302, October.
    3. Fritz, Manuela, 2021. "Temperature and non-communicable diseases: Evidence from Indonesia's primary health care system," Passauer Diskussionspapiere, Volkswirtschaftliche Reihe V-84-21, University of Passau, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    4. Yan Chen & Xiaohong Chen & Hongshan Ai & Xiaoqing Tan, 2022. "Temperature and Migration Intention: Evidence from the Unified National Graduate Entrance Examination in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-23, August.
    5. Neidell, Matthew & Uchida, Shinsuke & Veronesi, Marcella, 2019. "Be Cautious with the Precautionary Principle: Evidence from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident," IZA Discussion Papers 12687, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Jamie Mullins & Corey White, 2019. "Does Access to Health Care Mitigate Environmental Damages?," Working Papers 1905, California Polytechnic State University, Department of Economics.
    7. Hannah Klauber & Felix Holub & Nicolas Koch & Nico Pestel & Nolan Ritter & Alexander Rohlf, 2024. "Killing Prescriptions Softly: Low Emission Zones and Child Health from Birth to School," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 220-248, May.
    8. Neidell, Matthew & Uchida, Shinsuke & Veronesi, Marcella, 2021. "The unintended effects from halting nuclear power production: Evidence from Fukushima Daiichi accident," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Cuong Viet Nguyen & Manh‐Hung Nguyen & Toan Truong Nguyen, 2023. "The impact of cold waves and heat waves on mortality: Evidence from a lower middle‐income country," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 1220-1243, June.
    10. Li, Xue & Smyth, Russell & Xin, Guangyi & Yao, Yao, 2023. "Warmer temperatures and energy poverty: Evidence from Chinese households," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    11. Rizmie, Dheeya & de Preux, Laure & Miraldo, Marisa & Atun, Rifat, 2022. "Impact of extreme temperatures on emergency hospital admissions by age and socio-economic deprivation in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    12. Nguyen, Cuong Viet & Nguyen, Manh-Hung & Nguyen, Toan Truong, 2022. "Climate Change, Cold Waves, Heat Waves, and Mortality: Evidence from a Lower Middle-Income Country," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1034, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Civelek, Yasin, 2023. "The effect of hurricanes on mental health over the long term," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    14. Alberto Chong & Carla Srebot, 2023. "Environmental disasters and mental health: Evidence from oil spills in the Peruvian Amazon," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 771-796, May.
    15. Vladimir Otrachshenko & Olga Popova & José Tavares, 2021. "Extreme Temperature And Extreme Violence: Evidence From Russia," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(1), pages 243-262, January.
    16. Song, Yi & Hao, Yuqing, 2024. "Understanding the relationship between Fintech, Natural Resources, Green Finance, and Environmental Sustainability in China: A BARDL approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    17. Hajdu, Tamás, 2024. "Temperature exposure and sleep duration: Evidence from time use surveys," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    18. Giuliano Masiero & Fabrizio Mazzonna & Michael Santarossa, 2022. "The effect of absolute versus relative temperature on health and the role of social care," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(6), pages 1228-1248, June.
    19. Nico Pestel & Florian Wozny, 2019. "Low Emission Zones for Better Health: Evidence from German Hospitals," CINCH Working Paper Series 1904, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health.
    20. Yue Hua & Yun Qiu & Xiaoqing Tan, 2023. "The effects of temperature on mental health: evidence from China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1293-1332, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:87:y:2023:i:c:s1049007823000556. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/asieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.