Abstract
Using unique data collected in October-December 2012 we estimate the link between commuting for work and level of individual exposure to floods. We find that commuters on average have higher earnings than non-commuters.
Individuals affected by one flood commute by 11.2% more than unaffected individuals. We conjecture that the increase is linked to intentions to cover flood-related losses, decrease households' vulnerability to flood risk or out-migrate from the risk areas.
Individuals affected by at least two floods are by 20.2% less likely to commute relative to those unaffected. We explain this non-linear effect by the fact that many households out-migrate after the first flood.
Stayers commute less, because they are different from non-stayers in some underlying characteristics related to education, employment and family circumstances, which strongly affect commuting behaviour. We further find that in a commuting family an individual is by 53.8% more likely to commence commuting relative to a non-commuting family.
Choice of commuting destination is often similar to that of other family members.