Working Paper: NBER ID: w15605
Authors: Richard Hornbeck
Abstract: The 1930's American Dust Bowl was an environmental catastrophe that greatly eroded sections of the Plains. Analyzing new data collected to identify low-, medium-, and high-erosion counties, the Dust Bowl is estimated to have immediately, substantially, and persistently reduced agricultural land values and revenues. During the Depression and through at least the 1950's, there was limited reallocation of farmland from activities that became relatively less productive. Agricultural adjustments, such as reallocating land from crops to livestock, recovered only 14% to 28% of the initial agricultural cost. The economy adjusted predominately through migration, rather than through capital inflows and increased industry.
Keywords: Dust Bowl; Agricultural Economics; Environmental Catastrophe; Land Values; Migration
JEL Codes: N32; N52; Q54
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Decreased Agricultural Land Values (Q15) | Migration (F22) |
| Decreased Agricultural Revenues (Q15) | Migration (F22) |
| Erosion (Q54) | Migration (F22) |
| Erosion (Q54) | Decreased Agricultural Land Values (Q15) |
| Erosion (Q54) | Decreased Agricultural Revenues (Q15) |
| Dust Bowl (Q54) | Decreased Agricultural Land Values (Q15) |
| Dust Bowl (Q54) | Decreased Agricultural Revenues (Q15) |