Francis Mitrou
Professor Francis Mitrou is Senior Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Child Health Research, at The University of Western Australia, and Head of Human Development and Community Wellbeing at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Beginning as a graduate economist at the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1994, he has been a designer, contributor to, and user of research datasets that focus on vulnerable children and families. Transitioning to academia in the early 2000s, he holds multiple category-1 research grants and has expertise in survey development, linked data, Indigenous human development, mental health, economic evaluation, and the economics of child development.
Session
This study examines the effects of cyclones on life satisfaction in Australia, exploiting local exposure to cyclones as a natural experiment to address the limited causal evidence in the existing literature. Using 24 years of nationally representative panel data and individual fixed-effects models, we find that only the most severe Category 5 events—particularly those occurring in close proximity to individuals’ residences—have statistically significant and economically meaningful negative effects on overall life satisfaction, as well as on satisfaction with community and health. Moreover, these severe cyclones generate persistent or delayed adverse effects on satisfaction with employment opportunities, neighbourhood, community, and personal safety. Back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate that the estimated effects of Category 5 cyclone exposure within 100 km of one’s residence are equivalent to an income loss of approximately 1.4% to 6.5%, depending on the life satisfaction domain considered. The negative impacts are most pronounced among males, younger individuals, and those without prior residential insurance coverage, underscoring the importance of insurance in mitigating the adverse effects of natural disasters on life satisfaction.