McCoy, Shawn
(2016)
Natural Disasters, Risk-Salience, and Public Health.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This dissertation explores the dynamic links between natural disasters, human decision making, and risk perceptions as well as the public health implications of wildfire. In Chapter 1, we develop a model that links underlying changes in location-specific risk perceptions to housing market dynamics. We apply the model's predictions to an empirical analysis of the influence of severe wildfires on housing markets. Interpreted in the context of the model, our empirical results suggest that the evolution of risk perceptions following a natural disaster depend both on the characteristics of the property (relationship to the disaster and latent risk) and the location of the individual whose risk perceptions we are considering (potential seller vs. potential buyer). In Chapter 2, we examine the relationship between hurricanes, the salience of flood risk, and residential property investment. Utilizing a difference-in-differences estimation strategy, we find a significant increase in the probability a homeowner invests in a damaged building located in a statutorily designated flood risk area. However, we find no change in the rate of property investment in damaged homes located outside of these areas. We estimate changes in households’ perceptions of risk by modeling relative changes in investment between properties in designated risk areas and properties directly outside of these zones restricting attention to the set of structures that failed to experience any damage by the storm. Model results suggest that a recent storm may elevate households' perceptions of flood risk; however, we show that the primary mechanism driving these changes is a household's exposure to storm damage. Finally, in Chapter 3 we estimate the effects of wildfire on infant health. Model results show that wildfires lead to a statistically significant 4% to 6% reduction in birthweight conditional on the mother being exposed in her second or third trimester and located inside a wildfire smoke plume or downwind of a wildfire burn area. We find no statistically significant effects of wildfire on the health of infants located more than 3 miles away from a burn scar, living outside of smoky areas, or upwind of a wildfire.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
7 June 2016 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
8 April 2016 |
| Approval Date: |
7 June 2016 |
| Submission Date: |
12 April 2016 |
| Access Restriction: |
5 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 5 years. |
| Number of Pages: |
130 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Economics |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Natural Disasters, Wildfire, Risk-Salience, Public Health |
| Date Deposited: |
07 Jun 2016 16:46 |
| Last Modified: |
07 Jun 2021 05:15 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/27661 |
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