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<p>This dissertation consists of three studies exploring the effects of natural disasters
in North Carolina on the longer term outcomes of children. The first study looks
at the effect of prenatal natural disaster exposure on maternal health behaviors and
birth outcomes for twenty cohorts of children born in North Carolina. Combining North
Carolina administrative and survey data on births with disaster declarations from
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allows me to identify children who
were exposed to disasters in each trimester of prenatal development. Using a county
fixed effect strategy, I compare these children to other children born in the same
county who were not exposed to disasters while in utero. Results indicate that prenatal
natural disaster exposure, especially exposure to hurricanes, has a significant effect
on some maternal health behaviors, but this study provides only limited support for
the theory that natural disaster exposure negatively affects birth outcomes, as measured
by birth weight and gestational age.</p><p>The second study looks at the impact of
exposure to natural disasters during pregnancy on the educational outcomes of North
Carolina children at third grade. A broad literature relates negative birth outcomes
to poor educational performance, and a number of recent studies examine the effect
of prenatal exposure to natural disasters on birth outcomes. This study takes the
next step by considering how prenatal exposure affects later outcomes. The children
identified in the first study as exposed to disasters prenatally are compared to other
children born in the same county who were not exposed to disasters while in utero.
Results suggest that children exposed to hurricanes prenatally have lower scores on
third grade standardized tests in math and reading. Those exposed to flooding or
tornadoes also have somewhat lower math scores. Additionally, results suggest that
these negative effects are more concentrated among children in disadvantaged subgroups,
especially children born to Black mothers. </p><p>The third study addresses the question
of whether the disruption caused by a natural disaster has an impact on student academic
outcomes in the school year during which the natural disaster occurs. The effects
of disasters on school performance are important because natural disasters often constitute
a major community disruption with widespread impacts on the lives of children. The
educational data in this study comes from administrative records for all school districts
in North Carolina. Results suggest that hurricanes have a negative overall impact
on reading test scores, with the effect concentrated among middle schools. However,
winter storms have a positive effect on both math and reading scores in middle school.
This difference in effect and additional analysis of mechanisms suggests that mobility
is more important than missed days of schools in mediating negative effects of hurricanes
on school performance.</p>
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