Anna Kochanova (Cardiff University) 20.10.2022

It is our pleasure to host Dr. Anna Kochanova (Cardiff University) who will present on Thursday October 20, 2022 at 12:45 in room RB437 about her research on the topic “Natural Disasters and Creative Destruction: Evidence from Indonesian Firms”.

BIO: Anna is a Lecturer in Economics at Cardiff Business School. Previously she was a post-doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Bonn. She is applied economist, with research interests in political economy, institutional economics, international and private sector development, and economic impact of information and communication technologies. She is interested in both academic and policy-oriented research.

ABSTRACT: This paper assesses the impact of natural disasters on firm performance in Indonesia. It contrasts the effects of different types of disasters (floods and earthquakes) and investigates through which channels are firms affected by natural disasters and how they recover in their aftermath. In particular, we search for evidence for a “creative destruction” process after natural disasters that would lead to an updating of the capital stock and subsequent productivity improvements. Using yearly balance sheet information, we assess changes in outputs and input use in the aftermath of disasters as well as their effects on firm productivity and the general competition environment.