Poorly adapted but nothing to lose? A study on the flood risk – income relationship with a focus on low-income households

Flood risk may differ across income levels. In this paper, I employ unique survey data from more than 8000 households in Germany to derive an integrated flood risk indicator that accounts for local flood exposure, assets-at-risk, housing characteristics, and household coping behavior. The results su...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Daniel Osberghaus
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-01-01
Series:Climate Risk Management
Subjects:
Q54
D14
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096320300589
Description
Summary:Flood risk may differ across income levels. In this paper, I employ unique survey data from more than 8000 households in Germany to derive an integrated flood risk indicator that accounts for local flood exposure, assets-at-risk, housing characteristics, and household coping behavior. The results suggest that low-income households, due to their smaller homes and less valuable assets, face lower monetary flood risks than wealthier households despite the former’s limited capacity to implement protection measures and purchase insurance. Relative to the available financial budget, however, expected flood damage weighs higher for low-income households.
ISSN:2212-0963