Measuring the Effects of the September 11 Attack on New York City

[...]This article evaluates the short-term economic consequencesof the attack on Manhattan and the four other boroughsthat make up New York City. We begin with the deepest loss—that of human lives. We then look at the effects of the attack onthe inputs to the production process: labor and capital.The attack led to an idling and underutilization of labor notonly in the World Trade Center area, but also in other parts ofthe city. (Views of New York City and Lower Manhattan areprovided in Appendix A.) Our analysis of labor focuses onaggregate city employment as well as on industry effects andfactors that impact employee productivity, including healthand confidence.1 The analysis of capital covers the destructionof commercial space and infrastructure. We also discuss theeffects of the attack on the markets for office space, homeconstruction, and home sales. Finally, we examine how theattack affected the city’s most economically vulnerableresidents.[...]