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In this study, we conduct the first comprehensive, nationwide assessment of social equity performance of multiple federal post‐ and pre‐disaster assistance programs that differ in targeted recipients, project types, forms of aid, and funding requirements. We draw on the social equity and distributive justice theory to develop and test a set of hypotheses on the influence of program design and specificity on their aid distributional patterns and equity performance. The analysis uses panel data of about 3000 US counties to examine the relationship between a county's receipt of federal assistance and its recent disaster damage, socioeconomic, demographic, political, local government, and geographic characteristics in a two‐stage random effects Tobit model. Expectedly, we find that post‐disaster grants are largely driven by recent disaster damage, while damage is simultaneously influenced by local socioeconomic conditions. For all disaster programs, disproportionately more federal aid is allocated to populous counties. For programs geared toward state and local governments and targeting community recovery and mitigation, more aid is received by counties with better socioeconomic conditions. Conversely, for programs targeting individual relief and recovery, more aid is given to counties with lower incomes and greater social vulnerability. Results also indicate that counties located in high‐risk regions receive greater outlays. These findings shed light on the varying degrees of social equity of federal disaster assistance programs tied to their cost‐share requirement, funding caps, and inherent complexity of application procedures.
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The Unequal Impact of Disasters: Assessing the Interplay Between Social Vulnerability, Public Assistance, Flood Insurance, and Migration in the U.S
Abstract Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes with intense rainfall and storm surges, are posing increasing challenges to local communities worldwide. These hazards not only result in substantial property damage but also lead to significant population displacement. Federal disaster assistance programs are crucial for providing financial support for disaster response and recovery, but the allocation of these resources often unequal due to the complex interplay of environmental, social, and institutional factors. Relying on datasets collected from diverse sources, this study employs a structural equation model to explore the complex relationships between disaster damage (DD), social vulnerability (SV), public disaster assistance (PDA), the national flood insurance (NFI), and population migration (PM) across counties in the contiguous US. Our findings reveal that communities with lower SV tend to experience higher levels of DD across US counties. SV is negatively associated with PM, PDA, and NFI, both directly and indirectly. Furthermore, PDA is positively linked to PM, whereas DD has a direct negative effect on PM but an indirect positive effect through PDA.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2401860
- PAR ID:
- 10553314
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Science + Business Media
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Urban Informatics
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2731-6963
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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