Flooded Local Cooperation: Evidence from Qing Dynasty

Abstract

Do climate risks drive greater local cooperation? In this paper, we show that increased flood risk heightens the demand for public goods, thereby encouraging local cooperation. We investigate this by examining the unexpected changes in river courses and their impact on flood risk in 1855 Qing China. Using county-decade panel data from regions along the Yellow River, we find that activities of local grassroots institutions (clans) decline when the river shifts away and increase when a new river course forms. Moreover, a shift in the river course leads to fewer grassroots non-state provision of public goods in the affected regions, while the formation of a new river course corresponds with increased non-state provision of these goods.