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Badly hurt? Natural disasters and direct firm effects

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  • Noth, Felix
  • Rehbein, Oliver

Abstract

We investigate firm outcomes after a major flood in Germany in 2013. We robustly find that firms located in the disaster regions have significantly higher turnover, lower leverage, and higher cash in the period after 2013. We provide evidence that the effects stem from firms that already experienced a similar major disaster in 2002. Overall, our results document a positive net effect on firm performance in the direct aftermath of a natural disaster.

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  • Noth, Felix & Rehbein, Oliver, 2019. "Badly hurt? Natural disasters and direct firm effects," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 254-258.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:28:y:2019:i:c:p:254-258
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2018.05.009
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    Cited by:

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    2. Carbo-Valverde, Santiago & Rehbein, Oliver, 2023. "Nowhere else to go: Determinants of bank–firm relationship discontinuations after bank mergers," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    3. Bosco, Maria Giovanna & Valeriani, Elisa, 2023. "Energy retrofitting of firms after a natural disaster: A ‘build back better’ strategy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    4. Nebojsa Stojcic, 2020. "The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On The Export Competitiveness Of Manufacturing Firms In Croatia," Economic Thought and Practice, Department of Economics and Business, University of Dubrovnik, vol. 29(2), pages 347-366, december.
    5. Chen, Wenrui & Liu, Xinghe & Hong, Yun, 2023. "Two heads better than one? Strategic alliance and firms excess cash holdings," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    6. Hiroki Yamamoto & Tomomi Naka, 2021. "Quantitative Analysis of the Impact of Floods on Firms' Financial Conditions," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 21-E-10, Bank of Japan.
    7. Shala, Iliriana & Schumacher, Benno, 2022. "The impact of natural disasters on banks' impairment flow: Evidence from Germany," Discussion Papers 36/2022, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    8. 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.
    9. OGURA Yoshiaki & NGUYEN Duc Giang & NGUYEN Thu Ha, 2022. "Floods and Loan Reallocation: New evidence," Discussion papers 22088, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    10. Koetter, Michael & Noth, Felix & Rehbein, Oliver, 2020. "Borrowers under water! Rare disasters, regional banks, and recovery lending," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    11. Stojcic, Nebojsa, 2020. "Učinci pandemije Covid-19 na izvoznu konkurentnost poduzeća prerađivačke industrije u Hrvatskoj [The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the export competitiveness of manufacturing firms in Croatia]," MPRA Paper 108689, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Chen, Hsuan-Chi & Yeh, Chia-Wei, 2021. "Global financial crisis and COVID-19: Industrial reactions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Natural disasters; Firm outcomes;

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies

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