IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/forpol/v38y2014icp199-206.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Job growth and loss across sectors and time in the western US: The impact of large wildfires

Author

Listed:
  • Nielsen-Pincus, Max
  • Moseley, Cassandra
  • Gebert, Krista

Abstract

The link between economic growth and natural hazards has long been studied to better understand the effects of natural hazards on local, regional, and country level growth patterns. However, relatively little generalizable research has focused on wildfires, one of the most common forest disturbances in the western United States (US). We examined the effect of large wildfires on employment growth across sectors and time in the western US. We matched wildfire occurrences from 2004 to 2008 and their duration with monthly employment data to identify the effect of wildfire on employment growth. Wildfires generally tended to exhibit positive effects on employment during the periods that suppression efforts were active. However, the overall positive effect masks winners and losers across sectors — such as natural resources and mining and leisure and hospitality, respectively. The overall positive effect then transitioned to a negative drag on local employment growth for a period of up to two years following the wildfire. We explore reasons why some sectors win while others lose and explanations for the lingering effects of a large wildfire on the economy as a whole.

Suggested Citation

  • Nielsen-Pincus, Max & Moseley, Cassandra & Gebert, Krista, 2014. "Job growth and loss across sectors and time in the western US: The impact of large wildfires," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 199-206.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:38:y:2014:i:c:p:199-206
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2013.08.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S138993411300172X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.forpol.2013.08.010?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. Yu Xiao, 2011. "Local Economic Impacts Of Natural Disasters," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 804-820, October.
    2. Ariel R. Belasen & Solomon W. Polachek, 2008. "How Hurricanes Affect Wages and Employment in Local Labor Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 49-53, May.
    3. Belasen, Ariel R. & Polachek, Solomon, 2008. "How Hurricanes Affect Employment and Wages in Local Labor Markets," IZA Discussion Papers 3407, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Bradley Ewing & Jamie Kruse & Mark Thompson, 2009. "Twister! Employment responses to the 3 May 1999 Oklahoma City tornado," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(6), pages 691-702.
    5. Mark Skidmore & Hideki Toya, 2002. "Do Natural Disasters Promote Long-Run Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(4), pages 664-687, October.
    6. Ariel R. Belasen & Solomon W. Polachek, 2009. "How Disasters Affect Local Labor Markets: The Effects of Hurricanes in Florida," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(1).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fotini Economou & Prodromos Prodromidis & Georgia Skintzi, 2019. "Large Fire Disaster and the Regional Economy: The 2007 Case of the Peloponnese," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 17(1), pages 7-31.
    2. Meier, Sarah & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Strobl, Eric, 2023. "The regional economic impact of wildfires: Evidence from Southern Europe," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    3. Canavire Bacarreza, Gustavo J. & Puerta-Cuartas, Alejandro & Ramos, Andrey, 2024. "On the Effects of Wildfires on Poverty in Bolivia," IZA Discussion Papers 16988, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Annie Rosenthal & Eric Stover & Rohini J Haar, 2021. "Health and social impacts of California wildfires and the deficiencies in current recovery resources: An exploratory qualitative study of systems-level issues," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-21, March.
    5. Walls, Margaret A. & Wibbenmeyer, Matthew, 2023. "How Local are the Local Economic Impacts of Wildfires?," RFF Working Paper Series 23-03, Resources for the Future.
    6. Apurba Roy & Ilan Noy, 2023. "Impact of extratropical cyclones, floods, and wildfires on firms’ financial performance in New Zealand," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 25(4), pages 493-574, October.
    7. Sultana Zeenat Fouzia & Jianhong Mu & Yong Chen, 2020. "Local labour market impacts of climate-related disasters: a demand-and-supply analysis," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 336-352, July.
    8. Pugliese, Andrew & McCann, Laura & Artz, Georgeanne, 2015. "Impacts of national forests in the West on county population and employment," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 62-69.
    9. Jianhong E. Mu & Yong Chen, 2016. "Impacts of large natural disasters on regional income," 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. 83(3), pages 1485-1503, September.
    10. Benjamin A. Jones & Shana McDermott, 2021. "The Local Labor Market Impacts of US Megafires," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.
    11. Josiah Hickson & Joseph Marshan, 2022. "Labour Market Effects of Bushfires and Floods in Australia: A Gendered Perspective," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 98(S1), pages 1-23, September.

    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. Sultana Zeenat Fouzia & Jianhong Mu & Yong Chen, 2020. "Local labour market impacts of climate-related disasters: a demand-and-supply analysis," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 336-352, July.
    2. Josiah Hickson & Joseph Marshan, 2022. "Labour Market Effects of Bushfires and Floods in Australia: A Gendered Perspective," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 98(S1), pages 1-23, September.
    3. Veronica Leoni & David Boto-García, 2023. "The Effect of Natural Disasters on Hotel Demand, Supply and Labour Markets: Evidence from the La Palma Volcano Eruption," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 86(4), pages 755-780, December.
    4. Matteo Coronese & Federico Crippa & Francesco Lamperti & Francesca Chiaromonte & Andrea Roventini, 2023. "Raided by the storm: how three decades of thunderstorms shaped U.S. incomes and wages," LEM Papers Series 2023/40, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    5. Ariel Belasen & Chifeng Dai, 2014. "When oceans attack: assessing the impact of hurricanes on localized taxable sales," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 52(2), pages 325-342, March.
    6. Fujin Zhou & Wouter Botzen, 2021. "Firm Level Evidence of Disaster Impacts on Growth in Vietnam," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(2), pages 277-322, June.
    7. Philippe Kabore & Nicholas Rivers & Catherine Deri Armstrong, 2023. "Natural disasters and economic performance: Evidence from the Slave Lake wildfire," Working Papers 2301E Classification-D14,, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    8. Giorgio Di Pietro & Toni Mora, 2015. "The Effect of the L'Aquila Earthquake on Labour Market Outcomes," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 33(2), pages 239-255, April.
    9. Kirchberger, Martina, 2017. "Natural disasters and labor markets," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 40-58.
    10. César Andrés Mendoza & Giulio Breglia & Benjamín Jara, 2020. "Regional labor markets after an earthquake. Short-term emergency reactions in a cross-country perspective. Cases from Chile, Ecuador, Italy [Regionale Arbeitsmärkte nach einem Erdbeben. Kurzfristig," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 40(2), pages 189-221, October.
    11. Gignoux, Jérémie & Menéndez, Marta, 2016. "Benefit in the wake of disaster: Long-run effects of earthquakes on welfare in rural Indonesia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 26-44.
    12. Randrianarisoa, Laingo M. & Zhang, Anming, 2019. "Adaptation to climate change effects and competition between ports: Invest now or later?," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 279-322.
    13. Veronica Leoni & David Boto-Garc a, 2022. "The effect of natural disasters on tourism demand, supply and labour markets: Evidence from La Palma volcano eruption," Working Papers wp1177, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    14. Maribel Jiménez Martínez & Mónica Jiménez Martínez & Rocío Romero-Jarén, 2020. "How resilient is the labour market against natural disaster? Evaluating the effects from the 2010 earthquake in Chile," 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. 104(2), pages 1481-1533, November.
    15. Matteo Coronese & Davide Luzzati, 2022. "Economic impacts of natural hazards and complexity science: a critical review," LEM Papers Series 2022/13, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    16. Desbureaux, Sébastien & Rodella, Aude-Sophie, 2019. "Drought in the city: The economic impact of water scarcity in Latin American metropolitan areas," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 13-27.
    17. Martina Kirchberger, 2014. "Natural Disasters and Labour Markets," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/2014-19, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    18. Donadelli, M. & Jüppner, M. & Paradiso, A. & Ghisletti, M., 2020. "Tornado activity, house prices, and stock returns," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    19. Julio G. Fournier Gabela & Luis Sarmiento, 2020. "Kurzarbeit and Natural Disasters: How Effective Are Short-Time Working Allowances in Avoiding Unemployment?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1909, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    20. Pelli, Martino & Tschopp, Jeanne, 2017. "Comparative advantage, capital destruction, and hurricanes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 315-337.

    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:forpol:v:38:y:2014:i:c:p:199-206. 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/forpol .

    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.