Appraising the Unhappiness due to the Great East Japan Earthquake : Evidence from Weekly Panel Data on Subjective Well-being

Ohtake, Fumio; Yamada, Katsunori

Institute of Social and Economic Research Discussion Papers, 2013, 876, 1-27

Number of Access:578（2025-11-02 06:09 Counts）

Identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11094/25165

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Title
Appraising the Unhappiness due to the Great East Japan Earthquake : Evidence from Weekly Panel Data on Subjective Well-being
Creator
NRID
1000050176913 1000050176913
ORCID
0000-0002-8825-7446 0000-0002-8825-7446
researchmap permalink
ohtake ohtake
Scopus Author ID
6701666319 6701666319
CreatorName
Ohtake, Fumio
NRID
1000080533603 1000080533603
CreatorName
Yamada, Katsunori
Subject
Great East Japan Earthquake
subjective well-being
experienced utility approach
focusing effect
high frequency panel data
Abstract
After severe disasters, persons living not only in the directly affected areas, but also in distant areas could be seriously affected thorough images of the disaster on television and in newspapers. Hence, it can be difficult to define qualified beneficiaries for policy compensation in terms of psychological suffering. Building on the case of Great East Japan Earthquake, we appraise psychological suffering from disaster-related news through the experienced utility approach. We take advantage of the serendipitous timing of our original nationwide weekly panel survey that became a timely investigation of subjective well-being in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. Although a pale was cast over the whole society, we found that there was a robust and large geographical heterogeneity between the disaster area and non-disaster areas in mental costs. This finding may capture the focusing effect, suggesting that resources for compensating mental suffering should be concentrated on persons living in the disaster area.
Publisher
The Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University
Source Title
Institute of Social and Economic Research Discussion Papers
Volume (Issue)
876
Page
1-27
Date of Issued
2013-07
Language
English
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/11094/25165
Relation.references
URI
https://www.iser.osaka-u.ac.jp/static/resources/docs/dp/2013/DP0876.pdf
Access Rights
metadata only access
Category
ディスカッション／ワーキング・ペーパー DP/WP
Institute of Social and Economic Research Discussion Papers