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The Effect of the L'Aquila Earthquake on Labour Market Outcomes

Author

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  • Giorgio Di Pietro

    (Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods, University of Westminster and IZA, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS, England)

  • Toni Mora

    (Universitat Internacional de Catalunya and IEB, Immaculada 22, 08017 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

In this paper we analyse the effects of the L'Aquila earthquake on labour market outcomes for a period of fifteen months after its occurrence. Our estimates are based on a difference-in-differences strategy that compares residents of L'Aquila with residents of a control area before and after the earthquake. Three main results emerge from our empirical analysis: (1) the earthquake led to a modest, but significant, reduction in the probability of participating in the labour force for a period of nine months after the event; (2) while the employment likelihood decreased in the quarter immediately after the earthquake, it increased in the next four quarters; and (3) there is evidence of significant heterogeneous effects by gender and level of education.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:33:y:2015:i:2:p:239-255
    DOI: 10.1068/c12121r
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    1. Wang, Jun & Yang, Juan & Li, Bo, 2017. "Pain of disasters: The educational cost of exogenous shocks evidence from Tangshan Earthquake in 1976," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 27-49.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    L'Aquila earthquake; labour force participation; employment; difference-indifferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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