Prior to 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was an independent agency with direct congressional oversight. But in the wake of the September 11th attacks, FEMA was integrated into the newly-formed Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This merger, which severed the...

This Policy Comment examines the effect that federal government disaster relief payments have on local corruption. Using econometric analysis Leeson and Sobel explain how federal disaster aid acts as a resource windfall and why states that have more natural disasters see higher levels of public...

In this paper, we examine the resiliency of community recovery after a natural disaster. We argue that a resilient recovery requires robust economic/financial institutions, political/legal institutions, and social/cultural institutions. We explore how politically and privately created disaster...

Purpose – Previous literature has clearly demonstrated the need for sound government policies or “institutions” to promote and support entrepreneurship in a country. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of one such institution – political stability – in boosting...