In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Resources for the Future (RFF) Fellow Yanjun (Penny) Liao about the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, a bipartisan federal law that was first passed in the 1980s. The law is designed to curb development in coastal areas that are vulnerable to extreme weather events and to protect coastal environments. Liao and Walls discuss the effects of the law, including reductions in the amount of development on coastal lands, the amount of federal funding saved by the government through a reduced need for disaster response as a result, and increases in property-tax revenues for counties in designated coastal areas.

References and recommendations:

“Geeking Out on Geography: Mapping the Effects of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act” by Alexandra Thompson; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/geeking-out-on-geography-mapping-the-effects-of-the-coastal-barrier-resources-act/

“Removing Development Incentives in Risky Areas Promotes Climate Adaptation” by Hannah Druckenmiller, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, Sophie Pesek, Margaret Walls, and Shan Zhang; https://www.rff.org/publications/journal-articles/removing-development-incentives-in-risky-areas-promotes-climate-adaptation/

“Can Removing Development Subsidies Promote Adaptation? The Coastal Barrier Resources System as a Natural Experiment” by Hannah Druckenmiller, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, Sophie Pesek, Margaret Walls, and Shan Zhang; https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/working-papers/can-removing-development-subsidies-promote-adaptation

“Managed Retreat and Flood Recovery: The Local Economic Impacts of a Buyout and Acquisition Program” by Wei Guo, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, and Qing Miao; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/flood-recovery-local-economic-impacts-of-buyout-and-acquisition-hurricane-sandy-new-york/

“Making a Market for Acts of God: The Practice of Risk Trading in the Global Reinsurance Industry” by Paula Jarzabkowski, Rebecca Bednarek, and Paul Spee; https://global.oup.com/academic/product/making-a-market-for-acts-of-god-9780199664764