The Gift of Moving: Intergenerational Consequences of a Mobility Shock

The Gift of Moving: Intergenerational Consequences of a Mobility Shock (with Emi Nakamura and Jósef Sigurdsson)

Review of Economic Studies, forthcoming.

Replication Files -- Slides

An volcanic eruption caused a third of the houses in a town to be covered by lava. People living in these houses were much more likely to move away permanently. For the children living in these houses, we estimate that being induced to move by this “lava shock” dramatically raised lifetime earnings and education.