Disastrous Displacement: The Long-Run Impacts of Landslides

Natural disasters displace millions of people a year, but their economic impacts are difficult to study when the affected population becomes dispersed. This paper estimates the long-run impacts of six landslides in Uganda on nearly the full affected population. The analysis exploits the sharp boundaries between households residing along a landslide path and those on the same slopes but outside the path. Years after the landslides, affected households earn 50 percent less income and are 18 percentage points less likely to report being satisfied with their lives. Further analysis points to social capital as a determinant of successful post-disaster recovery. (JEL H84, J11, O12, O13, Q54, R23, Z13)