Alternative Schemes for Distributing Transfers to Natural Disaster Victims: Analysis and Implementation.

This paper outlines a scheme for distributing natural disaster relief to individuals derived from the principles of equity in taxation. This scheme is then given a specific algebraic formulation that, given a constraint on the total value of grants to be distributed, can be solved subject to grant-making bodies determining one of two policy parameters, viz, a subsistence income level below which disaster victims would bear no damage themselves, or the rate at which grants are reduced as peoples' incomes increase. The scheme as outlined can be adapted to policymakers' different specifications of one of these two parameters. Empirical implementation of the scheme is illustrated. Copyright 1988 by The Economic Society of Australia.