IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wrk/wrkesp/03.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Estimating the Impact of Natural Disasters on Caribbean Exports

Author

Listed:
  • Sandi, Eleni

    (University of Warwick)

Abstract

This paper aims to estimate the impact of natural disasters on exports in the Caribbean countries using a panel fixed effects regression. The paper’s main contribution lies in identifying the manufacturing industries that are disproportionately affected by natural disasters in the given region. It finds that an additional natural disaster in the Caribbean leads to a significant short-run decrease in total exports, whilst mineral, chemical, paper, textile and metal industries suffer the most. Using alternative disaster measures reveals that deaths have the largest impact on exports, emphasising the Caribbean’s high vulnerability to natural shocks. Interestingly, a dynamic model reveals a long-term negative effect on exports that strengthens over time. The main results remain robust to a variety of alternative model specifications. Total disaster effects seem to be driven by disasters in Haiti, although further research on country heterogeneity is recommended. Taken together, these findings are especially alarming in the context of climate change and global warming, as natural disasters are expected to increase in intensity and frequency. Drawing on these results, the policy implication is decreasing the Caribbean’s vulnerability by tackling the moral hazard problem of unconditional donor aid.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandi, Eleni, 2021. "Estimating the Impact of Natural Disasters on Caribbean Exports," Warwick-Monash Economics Student Papers 03, Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:wrk:wrkesp:03
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/wmesp/manage/3_-_eleni_sandi.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yang Dean, 2008. "Coping with Disaster: The Impact of Hurricanes on International Financial Flows, 1970-2002," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-45, June.
    2. Felbermayr, Gabriel & Gröschl, Jasmin, 2013. "Natural disasters and the effect of trade on income: A new panel IV approach," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 18-30.
    3. Daniel Osberghaus, 2019. "The Effects of Natural Disasters and Weather Variations on International Trade and Financial Flows: a Review of the Empirical Literature," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 305-325, October.
    4. Kaori Tembata & Kenji Takeuchi, 2019. "Floods and Exports: An Empirical Study on Natural Disaster Shocks in Southeast Asia," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 39-60, April.
    5. Fontes de Meira, Luciana & Phillips, Willard, 2019. "An economic analysis of flooding in the Caribbean: The case of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago," Studies and Perspectives – ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for The Caribbean 44877, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    6. Noy, Ilan, 2009. "The macroeconomic consequences of disasters," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 221-231, March.
    7. Andrade da Silva, Jorge & Cernat, Lucian, 2012. "Coping with loss: the impact of natural disasters on developing countries' trade flows," DG TRADE Chief Economist Notes 2012-1, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission.
    8. Martin Heger & Alex Julca & Oliver Paddison, 2008. "Analysing the Impact of Natural Hazards in Small Economies: The Caribbean Case," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-25, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    10. Raddatz, Claudio, 2009. "The wrath of God : macroeconomic costs of natural disasters," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5039, The World Bank.
    11. Tobias Sytsma, 2020. "The Impact of Hurricanes on Trade and Welfare: Evidence from US Port-level Exports," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 625-655, October.
    12. David Hummels, 2007. "Transportation Costs and International Trade in the Second Era of Globalization," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(3), pages 131-154, Summer.
    13. Eduardo Cavallo & Sebastian Galiani & Ilan Noy & Juan Pantano, 2013. "Catastrophic Natural Disasters and Economic Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1549-1561, December.
    14. Toya, Hideki & Skidmore, Mark, 2007. "Economic development and the impacts of natural disasters," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 20-25, January.
    15. Martin Gassebner & Alexander Keck & Robert Teh, 2010. "Shaken, Not Stirred: The Impact of Disasters on International Trade," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 351-368, May.
    16. Isabelle RABAUD & Daniel MIRZA & Hajare EL HADRI, 2018. "Why Natural Disasters Might Not Lead to a Fall in Exports in Developing Countries?," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2570, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    17. Strobl, Eric, 2012. "The economic growth impact of natural disasters in developing countries: Evidence from hurricane strikes in the Central American and Caribbean regions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 130-141.
    18. Dongyeol Lee & Huan Zhang & Chau Nguyen, 2018. "The Economic Impact of Natural Disasters in Pacific Island Countries: Adaptation and Preparedness," IMF Working Papers 2018/108, International Monetary Fund.
    19. Jesús Crespo Cuaresma & Jaroslava Hlouskova & Michael Obersteiner, 2008. "Natural Disasters As Creative Destruction? Evidence From Developing Countries," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 46(2), pages 214-226, April.
    20. Pelli, Martino & Tschopp, Jeanne, 2017. "Comparative advantage, capital destruction, and hurricanes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 315-337.
    21. Solomon M. Hsiang & Amir S. Jina, 2014. "The Causal Effect of Environmental Catastrophe on Long-Run Economic Growth: Evidence From 6,700 Cyclones," NBER Working Papers 20352, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Chang Hoon Oh, 2017. "How do natural and man-made disasters affect international trade? A country-level and industry-level analysis," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 195-217, February.
    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. Daniel Osberghaus, 2019. "The Effects of Natural Disasters and Weather Variations on International Trade and Financial Flows: a Review of the Empirical Literature," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 305-325, October.
    2. Ruohan Wu, 2023. "Natural disasters, climate change, and structural transformation: A new perspective from international trade," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1333-1377, May.
    3. Osberghaus, Daniel, 2019. "The effects of natural disasters and weather variations on international trade: A review of the empirical literature," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-002, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    4. Quy Ta & Yothin Jinjarak & Ilan Noy, 2022. "“How Do Shocks Affect International Reserves? A Quasi-Experiment of Earthquakes”," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 33(5), pages 945-971, November.
    5. Eric Nazindigouba Kere & Somlanaré Romuald Kinda & Rasmané Ouedraogo, 2015. "Do Natural Disasters Hurt Tax Resource Mobilization?," CERDI Working papers halshs-01242968, HAL.
    6. Peter A. G. van Bergeijk & Sara Lazzaroni, 2015. "Macroeconomics of Natural Disasters: Strengths and Weaknesses of Meta‐Analysis Versus Review of Literature," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(6), pages 1050-1072, June.
    7. Hiroki Onuma & Kong Joo Shin & Shunsuke Managi, 2021. "Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Growth Impacts of Catastrophic and Non-catastrophic Natural Disasters," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 53-70, April.
    8. Risti Permani & Xing Xu, 2022. "The nexus between natural disasters, supply chains and trade—Revisiting the role of preferential trade agreements in disaster risk reduction," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(10), pages 3002-3030, October.
    9. Ferreira, Susana, 2024. "Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change: Economic Impacts and Adaptation Policies," IZA Discussion Papers 16715, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Johanna Choumert-Nkolo & Anaïs Lamour & Pascale Phélinas, 2021. "The Economics of Volcanoes," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 277-299, July.
    11. Lazzaroni, Sara & van Bergeijk, Peter A.G., 2014. "Natural disasters' impact, factors of resilience and development: A meta-analysis of the macroeconomic literature," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 333-346.
    12. 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.
    13. Eduardo Cavallo & Ilan Noy, 2009. "The Economics of Natural Disasters: A Survey," Research Department Publications 4649, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    14. Sven Kunze, 2021. "Unraveling the Effects of Tropical Cyclones on Economic Sectors Worldwide: Direct and Indirect Impacts," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 78(4), pages 545-569, April.
    15. Idriss Fontaine & Sabine Garabedian & David Nortes Martínez & Hélène Vérèmes, 2021. "Tropical Cyclones and Fertility : New Evidence from Madagascar," Working Papers hal-03243455, HAL.
    16. Felbermayr, Gabriel & Gröschl, Jasmin, 2014. "Naturally negative: The growth effects of natural disasters," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 92-106.
    17. Kunze, Sven, 2020. "Unraveling the effects of tropical cyclones on economic sectors worldwide," Working Papers 0685, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    18. Barattieri, Alessandro & Borda, Patrice & Brugnoli, Alberto & Pelli, Martino & Tschopp, Jeanne, 2023. "The short-run, dynamic employment effects of natural disasters: New insights from Puerto Rico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    19. I. Koetsier, 2017. "The fiscal impact of natural disasters," Working Papers 17-17, Utrecht School of Economics.
    20. Lochan Kumar Batala & Wangxing Yu & Anwar Khan & Kalpana Regmi & Xiaoli Wang, 2021. "Natural disasters' influence on industrial growth, foreign direct investment, and export performance in the South Asian region of Belt and road initiative," 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. 108(2), pages 1853-1876, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Natural Disaster ; Climate Change ; Exports ; Industry-level JEL Classification: Q54 ; F14 ; O10;
    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
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:wrk:wrkesp:03. 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: Margaret Nash (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dewaruk.html .

    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.