Impact of natural disasters on income inequality: Analysis using panel data during the period 1965 to 2004

Although natural disasters have been found to influence economic growth, their impact on income inequality has not yet been explored. This paper uses cross-country panel data during the period 1965 to 2004 to examine how the occurrence of natural disasters has affected income inequality. The major findings of this study are that although natural disasters have increased income inequality in the short term, this effect disappears in the medium term. These findings are observed even after the fixed effects of year and country are controlled for.