The Impact of Perceived Background Risk on Stress, Health Insurance, and Substance Use: Evidence from Hurricane Katrina

Pesko, Michael (2015): The Impact of Perceived Background Risk on Stress, Health Insurance, and Substance Use: Evidence from Hurricane Katrina.

Abstract

Using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, I find causal evidence that Hurricane Katrina increased stress, smoking, binge drinking, and health insurance coverage in the non-impacted storm surge region. In this region, Hurricane Katrina increased health insurance coverage by 440,000 young adults, the number of smokers by 930,000, and the number of binge drinkers by 510,000. Findings suggest that disasters affect perceptions of background risk in areas with actual risk. Results are robust to varying the location and time of Hurricane Katrina, varying the pre-Hurricane Katrina time window, and excluding counties within 400 miles of New Orleans.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: health insurance, substance use, stress, risk perceptions, disasters
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D81 - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I13 - Health Insurance, Public and Private; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I19 - Other; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q54 - Climate ; Natural Disasters and Their Management ; Global Warming

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