An Economist’s Guide to Helping Victims of Helene and Milton
The main thing is to deliver aid quickly and efficiently, even if that means some citizens don’t get it and some noncitizens do.
What’s the best way to help?
Photographer: ALLISON JOYCE/AFPWith North Carolina still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton landing in Florida, it is natural to ask: What is the best way to help the victims of these storms, and how can society best protect itself from such damage in the future? As an economist, I realize that I come at these questions with a bit of a different perspective.
First, whenever possible it is better to use private insurance, such as homeowner’s insurance and flood insurance, to protect against loss. One of the functions of insurance is to make losers at least partially whole after the fact, but another is to make risky decisions too expensive to contemplate in the first place.