Citation

Fussell E, Dewaard J, Curtis KJ. Int. Migr. 2023; 61(5): 60-74.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration [and] Research Group for European Migration Problems)

DOI

10.1111/imig.13101

PMID

39108842

PMCID

PMC11299895

Abstract

An environmental event that damages housing and the built environment may result in either a short- or long-term out-migration response, depending on residents' recovery decisions and hazard tolerance. If residents move only in the immediate disaster aftermath, then out-migration will be elevated only in the short-term. However, if disasters increase residents' concerns about future risk, heighten vulnerability, or harm the local economy, then out-migration may be elevated for years after an event. The substantive aim of this research brief is to evaluate hypotheses about short- and long-term out-migration responses to the highly destructive 2005 hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico. The methodological aim is to demonstrate a difference-in-differences (DID) approach analyzing time series data from Gulf Coast counties to compare short- and long-differences in out-migration probabilities in the treatment and control counties. We find a large short-term out-migration response and a smaller sustained increase for the disaster-affected coastal counties.

Language: en