Data and Code for: The Economic Incidence of Wildfire Suppression in the United States

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Patrick Baylis, University of British Columbia; Judson Boomhower, University of California-San Diego

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
fires-hazard			03/03/2022 06:09:PM
README.txt	text/plain	39.9 KB	03/03/2022 01:10:PM

Project Citation:

Baylis, Patrick, and Boomhower, Judson. Data and Code for: The Economic Incidence of Wildfire Suppression in the United States. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2022. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2022-12-08. https://doi.org/10.3886/E144601V1

Project Description

Summary: This deposit includes data and code for the article titled "The Economic Incidence of Wildfire Suppression in the United States," by Patrick Baylis and Judson Boomhower.

Article abstract: This study measures the degree to which public expenditures on wildfire protection subsidize development in harm’s way. We use administrative data on firefighting expenditures to measure the causal effect of nearby homes on the amount spent to extinguish wildfires. We use these estimates in an actuarial calculation yielding geographically-differentiated expected implicit subsidies for homes across the Western US. The expected net present value of this subsidy can exceed 20% of home value, increases with fire hazard, and decreases surprisingly steeply with development density. We discuss potential behavioral responses by individuals and local governments using a simple economic model.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Western United States; wildfire incidents; government expenditures

JEL Classification:
      H22 Taxation and Subsidies: Incidence
      H23 Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
      Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
      Q58 Environmental Economics: Government Policy

Geographic Coverage: Western United States

Time Period(s): 1995 – 2014

Collection Date(s): 1/1/1995 – 12/31/2014

Universe: Wildfire incidents in the western United States.

Data Type(s): administrative records data; census/enumeration data; geographic information system (GIS) data; program source code

Methodology

Data Source:

Federal Agencies Wildfire Characteristics (National Fire and Aviation Management Web Database)

CAL FIRE Wildfire characteristics (CAL FIRE, Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity)

US Forest Service Wildfire Incident Costs (US Forest Service)

Department of the Interior Wildfire Incident Costs (US Department of the Interior)

CAL FIRE Wildfire Incident Costs (CAL FIRE)

FEMA Grants for Wildfire Assistance (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

Federal Preparedness Spending (US Forest Service and US Department of the Interior)

Forest Service Boundaries (US Forest Service)

Home Assessor Data (Corelogic Inc., confidential)

Home Price Index (Federal Housing Finance Agency)

Household Income (US Census)

Population Density (Gridded Population of the World)

Wildland-Urban Interface (Silvis Lab)

National Geographic Area Coordination Centers Boundaries (National Interagency Fire Center)

Distance to Primary Roads (US Census)

Aspect, Elevation, Slope, and Fuel Model (LANDFIRE database)

Wildfire Hazard Potential (US Forest Service)

Weather Conditions (PRISM Climate Group)

Unit(s) of Observation: Wildfire incidents

Related Publications

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Published Versions

V1 [2022-12-08]

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DDI 2.5

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