| Abstract: | We investigate the consequences of natural disasters on operating firms in Vietnam, and find evidence of adverse effects of disasters on retail sales accompanied by increases in firm investment of very similar magnitude. There are important spatial differences, with the post‐disaster increase in investment unique to the largest cities and provinces with large urban concentrations. We find that more remote rural areas, especially in the North, experience declines in firm sales without the mitigating boost to investment in the disasters’ aftermath. The decline in firms’ sales does not appear to be associated with declines in household incomes in those regions. |
