American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Enduring Impact of the American Dust Bowl: Short- and Long-Run Adjustments to Environmental Catastrophe
American Economic Review
vol. 102,
no. 4, June 2012
(pp. 1477–1507)
Abstract
The 1930s American Dust Bowl was an environmental catastrophe that greatly eroded sections of the Plains. The Dust Bowl is estimated to have immediately, substantially, and persistently reduced agricultural land values and revenues in more-eroded counties relative to less-eroded counties. During the Depression and through at least the 1950s, there was limited relative adjustment of farmland away from activities that became relatively less productive in more-eroded areas. Agricultural adjustments recovered less than 25 percent of the initial difference in agricultural costs for more-eroded counties. The economy adjusted predominantly through large relative population declines in more-eroded counties, both during the 1930s and through the 1950s. (JEL N32, N52, Q15, Q18, Q54)Citation
Hornbeck, Richard. 2012. "The Enduring Impact of the American Dust Bowl: Short- and Long-Run Adjustments to Environmental Catastrophe." American Economic Review, 102 (4): 1477–1507. DOI: 10.1257/aer.102.4.1477Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
- N52 Economic History: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
- Q15 Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
- Q18 Agricultural Policy; Food Policy
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters; Global Warming