IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v131y2017icp342-352.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The determinants of households' flood mitigation decisions in France - on the possibility of feedback effects from past investments

Author

Listed:
  • Richert, Claire
  • Erdlenbruch, Katrin
  • Figuières, Charles

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of private flood mitigation in France. We conducted a survey among 331 inhabitants of two flood-prone areas and collected data on several topics, including individual flood mitigation, risk perception, risk experience, and sociodemographic characteristics. We estimate discrete choice models to explain either the precautionary measures taken by the household, or the intention to undertake such measures in the future. Our results confirm that the Protection Motivation Theory is a relevant framework to describe the mechanisms of private flood mitigation in France, highlighting in particular the importance of threat appraisal and previous experience of floods. Some sociodemographic features also play a significant role in explaining private flood mitigation. We also observed that respondents who had already taken precautionary measures have a lower perception of the risk of flooding than respondents who planned to implement such measures at the time of the survey. This result can be explained by the existence of a feedback effect of having taken precautionary measures on risk perception. If subsequent studies support this assumption, it would imply that intended measures, rather than implemented ones, should be examined to explore further the determinants of private flood mitigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Richert, Claire & Erdlenbruch, Katrin & Figuières, Charles, 2017. "The determinants of households' flood mitigation decisions in France - on the possibility of feedback effects from past investments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 342-352.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:131:y:2017:i:c:p:342-352
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.09.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800916308047
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.09.014?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 look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul Raschky & Reimund Schwarze & Manijeh Schwindt & Ferdinand Zahn, 2013. "Uncertainty of Governmental Relief and the Crowding out of Flood Insurance," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 54(2), pages 179-200, February.
    2. Botzen, W.J.W. & Aerts, J.C.J.H. & van den Bergh, J.C.J.M., 2009. "Willingness of homeowners to mitigate climate risk through insurance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(8-9), pages 2265-2277, June.
    3. Pierre Picard, 2008. "Natural Disaster Insurance and the Equity‐Efficiency Trade‐Off," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 75(1), pages 17-38, March.
    4. Osberghaus, Daniel, 2015. "The determinants of private flood mitigation measures in Germany — Evidence from a nationwide survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 36-50.
    5. Markus K. Brunnermeier & Stefan Nagel, 2008. "Do Wealth Fluctuations Generate Time-Varying Risk Aversion? Micro-evidence on Individuals," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(3), pages 713-736, June.
    6. Cohn, Richard A, et al, 1975. "Individual Investor Risk Aversion and Investment Portfolio Composition," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 30(2), pages 605-620, May.
    7. James M. Carson & Kathleen A. McCullough & David M. Pooser, 2013. "Deciding Whether to Invest in Mitigation Measures: Evidence From Florida," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 80(2), pages 309-327, June.
    8. Erdlenbruch, Katrin & Thoyer, Sophie & Grelot, Frédéric & Kast, Robert & Enjolras, Geoffroy, 2009. "Risk-sharing policies in the context of the French Flood Prevention Action Programmes," MPRA Paper 20187, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Arnaud Reynaud & Cécile Aubert & Manh-Hung Nguyen, 2013. "Living with Floods: Protective Behaviours and Risk Perception of Vietnamese Households," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 38(3), pages 547-579, July.
    10. Train,Kenneth E., 2009. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521747387.
    11. Torsten Grothmann & Fritz Reusswig, 2006. "People at Risk of Flooding: Why Some Residents Take Precautionary Action While Others Do Not," 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. 38(1), pages 101-120, May.
    12. Haer, Toon & Botzen, W.J. Wouter & Aerts, Jeroen C.J.H., 2016. "The effectiveness of flood risk communication strategies and the influence of social networks—Insights from an agent-based model," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 44-52.
    13. Glenk, Klaus & Fischer, Anke, 2010. "Insurance, prevention or just wait and see? Public preferences for water management strategies in the context of climate change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 2279-2291, September.
    14. W. J. Wouter Botzen & Jeroen C. J. M. Van Den Bergh, 2012. "Monetary Valuation Of Insurance Against Flood Risk Under Climate Change," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(3), pages 1005-1026, August.
    15. P. Bubeck & W. J. W. Botzen & J. C. J. H. Aerts, 2012. "A Review of Risk Perceptions and Other Factors that Influence Flood Mitigation Behavior," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(9), pages 1481-1495, September.
    16. F. Vinet & D. Lumbroso & S. Defossez & L. Boissier, 2012. "A comparative analysis of the loss of life during two recent floods in France: the sea surge caused by the storm Xynthia and the flash flood in Var," 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. 61(3), pages 1179-1201, April.
    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. Richert, Claire & Erdlenbruch, Katrin & Grelot, Frédéric, 2019. "The impact of flood management policies on individual adaptation actions: Insights from a French case study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Nuria Osés-Eraso & Sébastien Foudi, 2020. "Valoración de riesgos por inundaciones," Working Papers 2020-08, FEDEA.
    3. Victor Champonnois & Katrin Erdlenbruch, 2020. "Willingness of households to reduce flood risk in southern France," Working Papers hal-02586069, HAL.
    4. Welsch, David M. & Winden, Matthew W. & Zimmer, David M., 2022. "The effect of flood mitigation spending on flood damage: Accounting for dynamic feedback," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    5. Kerstin K. Zander & Stephen Garnett, 2020. "Risk and experience drive the importance of natural hazards for peoples’ mobility decisions," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1639-1654, October.
    6. Sebastian Seebauer & Philipp Babcicky, 2020. "The Sources of Belief in Personal Capability: Antecedents of Self‐Efficacy in Private Adaptation to Flood Risk," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(10), pages 1967-1982, October.
    7. Noonan, Douglas S. & Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem, 2019. "Community-scale Flood Risk Management: Effects of a Voluntary National Program on Migration and Development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 92-99.
    8. Andrew Royal & Margaret Walls, 2019. "Flood Risk Perceptions and Insurance Choice: Do Decisions in the Floodplain Reflect Overoptimism?," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(5), pages 1088-1104, May.
    9. Jantsje M. Mol & W. J. Wouter Botzen & Julia E. Blasch & Hans de Moel, 2020. "Insights into Flood Risk Misperceptions of Homeowners in the Dutch River Delta," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(7), pages 1450-1468, July.
    10. Nanda Kaji Budhathoki & Douglas Paton & Jonatan A. Lassa & Gopal Datt Bhatta & Kerstin K. Zander, 2020. "Heat, cold, and floods: exploring farmers’ motivations to adapt to extreme weather events in the Terai region of Nepal," 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. 103(3), pages 3213-3237, September.
    11. Sefa Mızrak & Melikşah Turan, 2023. "Effect of individual characteristics, risk perception, self-efficacy and social support on willingness to relocate due to floods and landslides," 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. 116(2), pages 1615-1637, March.
    12. Tanvir Pavel & Pallab Mozumder, 2019. "Household Preferences for Managing Coastal Vulnerability: State vs. Federal Adaptation Fund," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 281-304, October.

    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. Richert, Claire & Erdlenbruch, Katrin & Grelot, Frédéric, 2019. "The impact of flood management policies on individual adaptation actions: Insights from a French case study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Victor Champonnois & Katrin Erdlenbruch, 2020. "Willingness of households to reduce flood risk in southern France," CEE-M Working Papers hal-02586069, CEE-M, Universtiy of Montpellier, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro.
    3. W. J. Wouter Botzen & Howard Kunreuther & Jeffrey Czajkowski & Hans de Moel, 2019. "Adoption of Individual Flood Damage Mitigation Measures in New York City: An Extension of Protection Motivation Theory," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(10), pages 2143-2159, October.
    4. Yilin Zou & Alexia Stock & Rachel Davidson & Linda Nozick & Joseph Trainor & Jamie Kruse, 2020. "Perceived attributes of hurricane-related retrofits and their effect on household adoption," 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(1), pages 201-224, October.
    5. Mol, Jantsje M. & Botzen, W.J. Wouter & Blasch, Julia E., 2020. "Behavioral motivations for self-insurance under different disaster risk insurance schemes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 967-991.
    6. Osberghaus, Daniel, 2015. "The determinants of private flood mitigation measures in Germany — Evidence from a nationwide survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 36-50.
    7. Andor, Mark A. & Osberghaus, Daniel & Simora, Michael, 2020. "Natural Disasters and Governmental Aid: Is there a Charity Hazard?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. Martin Achtnicht & Daniel Osberghaus, 2019. "The Demand for Index‐Based Flood Insurance in a High‐Income Country," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 20(2), pages 217-242, May.
    9. Sebastian Seebauer & Philipp Babcicky, 2020. "The Sources of Belief in Personal Capability: Antecedents of Self‐Efficacy in Private Adaptation to Flood Risk," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(10), pages 1967-1982, October.
    10. Katrin Erdlenbruch & Bruno Bonté, 2018. "Simulating the dynamics of individual adaptation to floods," Post-Print hal-02175815, HAL.
    11. Ruth Dittrich & Anita Wreford & Adam Butler & Dominic Moran, 2016. "The impact of flood action groups on the uptake of flood management measures," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 471-489, October.
    12. Asadul Islam & C. Matthew Leister & Minhaj Mahmud & Paul A. Raschky, 2020. "Natural disaster and risk-sharing behavior: Evidence from rural Bangladesh," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 67-99, August.
    13. Goeschl, Timo & Managi, Shunsuke, 2017. "Public in-kind relief and private self-insurance," Working Papers 0633, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    14. Binh, Phung Thanh & Zhu, Xueqin & Groeneveld, Rolf A. & van Ierland, Ekko C., 2020. "Risk communication, women’s participation and flood mitigation in Vietnam: An experimental study," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    15. Tesselaar, Max & Botzen, W.J. Wouter & Robinson, Peter J. & Aerts, Jeroen C.J.H. & Zhou, Fujin, 2022. "Charity hazard and the flood insurance protection gap: An EU scale assessment under climate change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    16. Osberghaus, Daniel & Reif, Christiane, 2021. "How do different compensation schemes and loss experience affect insurance decisions? Experimental evidence from two independent and heterogeneous samples," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    17. Joop de Boer & W. J. Wouter Botzen & Teun Terpstra, 2014. "Improving Flood Risk Communication by Focusing on Prevention‐Focused Motivation," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(2), pages 309-322, February.
    18. Pierre Valois & David Bouchard & Denis Talbot & Maxime Caron & Jean-Sébastien Renaud & Pierre Gosselin & Johann Jacob, 2020. "Adoption of flood-related preventive behaviours by people having different risks and histories of flooding," 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. 102(3), pages 1155-1173, July.
    19. Chou, Wan-Jung & Huang, Yu-Chia & Chang, Ching-Cheng, 2015. "Precautionary Intentions and Risk Perceptions: Empirical Evidence from the Victims of Typhoon Morakot," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205549, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Susanne Hanger & Joanne Linnerooth‐Bayer & Swenja Surminski & Cristina Nenciu‐Posner & Anna Lorant & Radu Ionescu & Anthony Patt, 2018. "Insurance, Public Assistance, and Household Flood Risk Reduction: A Comparative Study of Austria, England, and Romania," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(4), pages 680-693, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Floods; Risk; Mitigation; Risk perception; France;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • R22 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Other Demand

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ecolec:v:131:y:2017:i:c:p:342-352. 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/ecolecon .

    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.