American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Flood Risk Mapping and the Distributional Impacts of Climate Information
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 275–305)
Abstract
This paper examines the provision of official flood risk information in the United States and its distributional impacts on residential flood insurance take-up. Assembling all flood maps produced after Hurricane Katrina, I document that updated maps decreased the number of properties zoned in high-risk floodplains and incorrectly omitted five million properties, primarily in neighborhoods with more Black and Hispanic residents. Leveraging the staggered timing of map updates, I estimate that updated maps decreased flood insurance take-up and exacerbated racial disparities in insurance coverage. While past map updates distorted risk and price signals, correcting flood maps would yield substantial welfare gains.Citation
Weill, Joakim A. 2026. "Flood Risk Mapping and the Distributional Impacts of Climate Information." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 18 (3): 275–305. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230552Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- G22 Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
- G52 Household Finance: Insurance
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming