The Impact of Terrorism on Well-being: Evidence from the Boston Marathon Bombing

Andrew E. Clark (1, 2) , Elena Stancanelli (1, 2) , Orla Doyle (3)

1 PSE - Paris School of Economics
2 PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques
3 UCD School of Economics [Dublin, Irlande]

A growing literature has concluded that terrorism affects the economy, yet less is known about its impact on individual welfare. This article estimates the impact of the 2013 Boston marathon bombing on well-being, exploiting representative daily data from the American Time Use Survey and Well-Being Supplement. Using a combined regression discontinuity and differences-in-differences design, with the 2012 Boston marathon as a counterfactual, we find an immediate reduction in well-being of a third of a standard deviation. In particular, happiness declined sharply and negative emotions rose significantly. While the effects do not persist beyond one week, they may entail adverse health and economic consequences.

Domaines: Economies et finances

Andrew E. Clark, Elena Stancanelli, Orla Doyle. The Impact of Terrorism on Well-being: Evidence from the Boston Marathon Bombing. The Economic Journal, 2020, 130 (631), pp.2065-2104. ⟨10.1093/ej/ueaa053⟩. ⟨halshs-02492636⟩