The question of whether forced relocation is beneficial or detrimental to the displaced households is a controversial and important policy question. After the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, the government designated some of the worst affected areas as Residential Red Zones. Around 20,000 people were forced to move out of these Residential Red Zone areas, and were compensated for that. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, we aim to estimate the impact of relocation on the displaced households in terms of their income, employment, and their mental and physical health. Second, we evaluate whether the impact of relocation varies by the timing of to move, the destination (remaining within the Canterbury region or moving out of it) and demographic factors (gender, age, ethnicity). StatisticsNZ’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) from 2008 to 2017, which includes data on all households in Canterbury, and a difference-in-difference (DID) technique is used to answer these questions. We find that relocation has a negative impact on the income of the displaced household group. This adverse impact is more severe for later movers. Compared to the control group (that was not relocated), the income of relocated households was reduced by 3% for people who moved immediately after the earthquake in 2011, and 14% for people who moved much later in 2015.
A story submitted by Cathryn Bridges to the QuakeStories collection.
A pdf transcript of Kathryn's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Joshua Black. Transcriber: Maggie Blackwood.
A pdf transcript of Sally Roome's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Jennifer Middendorf.
A pdf transcript of Ina Wit's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Sriparna Saha. Transcriber: Natalie Looyer.
A pdf transcript of Jan's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Maggie Blackwood.
A pdf transcript of Julie's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Rosemary Du Plessis. Transcriber: Natalie Looyer.
A pdf transcript of Sarah Shaw's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Samuel Hope.
A pdf transcript of Julie's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Natalie Looyer.
A pdf transcript of Participant number LY967's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Maggie Blackwood.
A pdf transcript of Tania's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Laura Moir. Transcriber: Lucy Denham.
A pdf transcript of Paul Barrett's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Josie Hepburn.
A pdf transcript of Darren Tatom's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Samuel Hope.
A pdf transcript of Andrea's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Josie Hepburn.
A pdf transcript of Stephen Bourke's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Lucy Denham. Transcriber: Lucy Denham.
