Rules for Recovery: Impact of Indexed Disaster Funds on Shock Coping in Mexico

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: del Valle, Alejandro; de Janvry, Alain; Sadoulet, Elisabeth
• 署名单位: University System of Georgia; Georgia State University; University of California System; University of California Berkeley
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20190002
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 164-195
• 关键词: natural disasters; ECONOMIC-GROWTH; Satellite data; CONSEQUENCES; manipulation; threshold; inference; designs

摘要

Government provision of disaster transfers is typically hampered by liquidity constraints and by weak rules and administrative capacity to disburse reconstruction resources. We show that by easing these hurdles, Mexico's indexed disaster fund (Fonden) considerably accelerates economic recovery after a disaster. To estimate Fonden impact on recovery, as measured by night lights, we exploit the heavy rainfall index that determines program eligibility. We find that for one year after a disaster, eligible municipalities are 6 percent brighter than those ineligible, with gains likely concentrated among less resilient municipalities. We additionally document how Fonden rules shield resources from political abuse.