A Bad Time for Disaster: Economic Stress and Disaster Resilience

Abstract:     
Local governments face threats from natural and man-made disasters, but tightening budgets create difficulty in developing the resource and information capacity to meet these challenges. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the federal government provided a variety of grants for equipment and system development, but those funding sources have changed. Local governments can improve their public safety and health preparedness and response capacity through intergovernmental cooperation efforts and robust information sharing. These actions enable local governments to develop resilience to extreme events, or the capacity to adapt to sudden, urgent demands more effectively.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 21

Keywords: disaster, emergency management, public safety, municipal budgeting, economic stress, resiliency

JEL Classification: D73, D79, G38, H11, H51, H72, H77, I10

working papers series