How the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Shaped Economic Activity in the American West

Replication package for "How the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Shaped<br>Economic Activity in the American West" by Philipp Ager, Katherine A. Eriksson, Casper Worm Hansen and Lars Lønstrup. We refer to the paper, and its Online Appendix, for further details on data sources and how results are obtained. Please see the "read me.rtf" for further instructions. The software STATA is required to run programs (.do) and data files (.dta).<br><br>Abstract:<br>This paper examines the long-run effects of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake on the spatial distribution of economic activity in the American West. Using variation in the potential damage intensity of the earthquake, we show that more severely affected cities experienced lower population increases relative to less affected cities until the late 20th century. The earthquake left a long-lasting mark mainly because it interrupted existing migrant networks. Less affected areas became more attractive migrant destinations in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, which permanently changed relative city sizes in the American West.