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Myopic Voters and Natural Disaster Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2009

ANDREW HEALY  and
NEIL MALHOTRA
ANDREW HEALY*
Affiliation:
Loyola Marymount University
NEIL MALHOTRA*
Affiliation:
Stanford University
*
Andrew Healy is Assistant Professor of Economics, Loyola Marymount University, 1 LMU Drive, University Hall 4229, Los Angeles, CA 90045 ([email protected]).
Neil Malhotra is Assistant Professor of Political Economy, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, 518 Memorial Way, Stanford, CA 94305 ([email protected]).
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Abstract

Do voters effectively hold elected officials accountable for policy decisions? Using data on natural disasters, government spending, and election returns, we show that voters reward the incumbent presidential party for delivering disaster relief spending, but not for investing in disaster preparedness spending. These inconsistencies distort the incentives of public officials, leading the government to underinvest in disaster preparedness, thereby causing substantial public welfare losses. We estimate that $1 spent on preparedness is worth about $15 in terms of the future damage it mitigates. By estimating both the determinants of policy decisions and the consequences of those policies, we provide more complete evidence about citizen competence and government accountability.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 103 , Issue 3 , August 2009 , pp. 387 - 406
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2009

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