The Impact of Earthquakes on Individual Savings and Expenditure Preferences: Evidence from the February 6, 2023 Türkiye Earthquakes

The February 6, 2023 Turkey earthquakes caused many losses of life and property, and these earthquakes directly or indirectly affected hundreds of thousands of individuals. After the earthquake, individuals may act cautiously and save money, or they may believe that life is short and increase their consumption with the idea of living in the moment. The aim of this paper is to analyze the change caused by the earthquake in the savings and spending preferences of individual customers, specifically in the 11 provinces affected by the February 6, 2023 Turkey earthquakes. For this purpose, between the periods 2022Q1-2023Q4 of Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elaziǧ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanliurfa provinces', which were affected by earthquakes, selected loan and deposit datas were analyzed with paired sample t-test. As a result of the research, it was detected that savings increased in the provinces most affected by the earthquakes, while expenditures increased in the provinces less affected by the earthquakes. © 2024 Afet ve Acil Durum Yonetimi Baskanligi (AFAD). All rights reserved.