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Natural Disasters And Individual Economic Performance: A Case Study From The Slave Lake Wildfire

Author

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  • PHILIPPE KABORE

    (Unité départementale des sciences de la gestion, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada)

  • NICHOLAS RIVERS

    (Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada)

  • CATHERINE DERI ARMSTRONG

    (Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada)

Abstract

In May 2011, the municipality of Slave Lake, Alberta, was hit by a devastating wildfire; the second costliest natural disaster in Canada at the time. Residents of Slave Lake were forced to evacuate for at least a month. This case study uses longitudinal income tax data from 2004 to 2018 to estimate the short, medium, and long-term individual economic effects of this wildfire. Estimates suggest an average drop in total income of 10.5% relative to a counter-factual scenario with no wildfire over the 7 years following the wildfire, mainly driven by a decrease in employment income. The percentage of total income lost is similar for males and females. The largest effects are found for workers in the agriculture and forestry sectors. Back-of-the- envelope calculations suggest an aggregate loss in employment income of $150 million in the 7 years following the disaster, equivalent to over 13% of direct economic losses due to property damage, firefighting, and contemporaneous business closure.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippe Kabore & Nicholas Rivers & Catherine Deri Armstrong, 2025. "Natural Disasters And Individual Economic Performance: A Case Study From The Slave Lake Wildfire," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(03), pages 1-29, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ccexxx:v:16:y:2025:i:03:n:s2010007825500125
    DOI: 10.1142/S2010007825500125
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    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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