| Author Name | TANAKA Ayumu (Research Associate, RIETI) |
|---|---|
| Creation Date/NO. | June 2013 13-E-051 |
| Research Project | Study of the Creation of the Japanese Economy and Trade and Direct Investment |
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Abstract
The Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake in 1995 affected numerous plants in Kobe. In this study, I focus on this earthquake and use plant-level data to re-examine the creative disaster hypothesis which states that natural disasters enhance the growth of firms or plants in the affected areas. I employ the matching method and the difference-in-difference (DID) approach to reveal the effects of the quake. The results show that the plants that survived in the most devastated districts of Kobe faced severe negative effects in terms of employment growth and value added in the subsequent three years. This result is not consistent with previous empirical studies that support the creative disaster hypothesis.
Published: Ayumu Tanaka, 2015. "The Impacts of Natural Disasters on Plants' Growth: Evidence from the Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Vol. 50, pp. 31-41.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046214001112
