 | Doing the Right Things: The Private Sector Response to Hurricane Katrina as a Case Study in the Bourgeois Virtues
August 27, 2009 Working Papers Steven Horwitz |
| Major American companies from Marriott to McDonald’s to Wal-Mart undertook major and minor acts of bourgeois virtue and contributed in a significant way to the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Doing the right thing” was central to their response. What constituted “doing the right thing,” how the very nature of large capitalist enterprises made doing “right” possible, and how doing “right” improved conditions after Katrina is explored in this working paper.
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 | Local Knowledge: Caring Communities: The Role of Nonprofits in Rebuilding the Gulf Coast
August 25, 2009 Research Papers/Studies Daniel Rothschild,
Emily Chamlee-Wright,
Jennifer Zambone,
Jerry Brito,
Lenore Ealy,
Peter Boettke,
Roxanne Alvarez,
Veronique de Rugy,
Virgil Storr |
| This issue of Local Knowledge focuses on the role of nonprofits and social entrepreneurs in rebuilding the Gulf Coast. In this issue you can read research articles that explain what social entrepreneurship is; that discuss how social entrepreneurs and nonprofits play a critical role in the response to and recovery after disasters; and that detail where and when nonprofits have played key parts in rebuilding.
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| Private Solutions to Public Disasters: Self-Reliance and Social Resilience
July 20, 2009 Working Papers Daniel J. Smith,
Peter Boettke |
| Despite having their plans frustrated through the regulations and uncertainty created by government action, humankind has still demonstrated a remarkable resilience following a natural or manmade disaster. We argue that this is due to the civilizing and coordinating roles played by civil society. For-profit companies, charities and churches play a vital role in the recovery process. These organizations have proven to be the first, and most well equipped responders to disasters, jump starting the recovery process.
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| The National Insurance Consumer Protection Act’s Potential Impact on the Social Resiliency of Hazard-Prone Regions
June 17, 2009 Working Papers David C. Marlett |
| A system of Optional Federal Chartering (OFC) for property insurers has been proposed to address problems with the state regulation of insurance, under which insurers would be able to opt into a federal regulatory system, leaving behind the system of patchwork state regulations. This paper discusses the benefits and problems with both the state-based and federal-based regulatory systems and suggests ways to achieve better outcomes if policy makers enact OFC.
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| Policy Uncertainty and the Market for Wind Insurance
June 10, 2009 Working Papers Daniel Sutter |
| Critics have suggested that rising homeowners insurance costs in some areas since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina are due to market inefficiency or herding behavior by insurers This paper empirically tests the herding hypothesis and finds little evidence to support it. Uncertainty in regulation and public policy are likely the significant drivers of coastal rate hikes and decreased availability.
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 | Reversing a Rising Tide: Goals for Reforming the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association
April 27, 2009 Mercatus On Policy Daniel Sutter |
| This Mercatus on Policy recommends reforms for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.
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 | Mercatus on Policy: Optional Federal Chartering of Insurers and Hurricane Risk
April 23, 2009 Mercatus On Policy Daniel Sutter |
| This Mercatus on Policy considers how Optional Federal Chartering (OFC) potentially affects hurricane insurance.
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| Best Responders: Post-Katrina Innovation and Improvisations by Wal-Mart and the U.S. Coast Guard
April 15, 2009 Journal Articles Steven Horwitz |
| The unprecedented impacts of Hurricane Katrina provide an interesting study in how organizations innovate and improvise in the face of the unexpected. Most of the attention paid to organizational performance during the disaster has focused, understandably, on the systematic failures of FEMA. But were there any successes? Yes, in fact. Two of the stand-out responders were Wal-Mart and the United States Coast Guard.
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 | Wal-Mart to the Rescue: Private Enterprise's Response to Hurricane Katrina
March 20, 2009 Journal Articles Steven Horwitz |
| This paper describes aspects of Wal-Mart’s emergency response system and details their actions during the storm.
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 | The Impact of FEMA Reorganization: Implications for Policy
February 26, 2009 Mercatus Policy Series Christopher Coyne,
Peter Leeson,
Russell Sobel |
| This policy comment discusses the impact and implications of FEMA’s move to DHS. |
