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Do Long-Run Disasters Promote Human Capital in China? —The Impact of 500 Years of Natural Disasters on County-Level Human-Capital Accumulation

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  • Zhidi Zhang

    (China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China)

  • Jianqing Ruan

    (China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China)

Abstract

Is there a relationship between the frequency of regional natural disasters and long-term human-capital accumulation? This article investigates the long-run causality between natural calamities and human-capital accumulation with macro and micro data. Empirical cross-county analysis demonstrates that higher frequencies of natural calamities are correlated with higher rates of human-capital accumulation. Specifically, on the basis of empirical data of the fifth census in 2000 and China’s Labor-Force Dynamics Survey in 2012, this paper exploits the two databases to infer that the high disaster frequency in the years of 1500–2000 was likely to increase regional human-capital accumulation on district level. High natural-calamity frequency reduces the expected rate of returning to physical capital, which also serves to increase human-capital. Thus, experiencing with natural disasters would influence human’s preference to human-capital investment instead of physical capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhidi Zhang & Jianqing Ruan, 2020. "Do Long-Run Disasters Promote Human Capital in China? —The Impact of 500 Years of Natural Disasters on County-Level Human-Capital Accumulation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:20:p:7422-:d:426643
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