Mandated vs. Voluntary Adaptation to Natural Disasters: The Case of U.S. Wildfires / Patrick W. Baylis, Judson Boomhower.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baylis, Patrick W.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Boomhower, Judson.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w29621.

NBER working paper series no. w29621

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2021.

Summary:

Despite escalating disaster losses and predicted increases in weather-related catastrophes, takeup of protective technologies and behaviors appears limited by myopia, externalities, and other factors. One response to such frictions is to mandate adaptive investment. We measure the effect of California's wildfire building codes on own- and neighboring structure survival using administrative damage and assessment data for most US homes experiencing wildfires since 2000. Differences across jurisdictions and vintages reveal remarkable resilience effects of building codes initially prompted by the deadly 1991 Oakland Firestorm. Codes also benefit neighbors. We use the results to estimate net social benefits of wildfire building standards.

Notes:

Print version record

December 2021.