Charitable Giving and the Housing Market after Hurricane Sandy in New York City

Extreme weather events often have consequences not only economically and financially,
but also in terms of more complex social changes. How people respond to
disasters in their risk-taking, prosociality, and other social behaviors dependent on
group membership is stilla a somewhat open question. This paper explores changes
in charitable giving among New York area neighborhoods with significant exposure
to flood damages from Hurricane Sandy after the storm. While the existence of any
major shift in giving levels is unlikely, there is the possibility of a differential effect
between Republicans and Democrats, with the former increasing contributions while
the latter see no change. Additionally, I provide further evidence to suggest a strong
price discount on single family homes in the Sandy flood zone following the hurricane,
but do not find evidence of changes in rents.