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The Political Economy of FEMA: Did Reorganization Matter?
Title: The Political Economy of FEMA: Did Reorganization Matter?
Date: January 25, 2008
Author: Russell Sobel, Christopher Coyne, Peter Leeson
Institution: Mercatus Center
Bibliographic Entry: Coyne, Christopher, Peter Lesson, and Russel Sobel. “The Political Economy of FEMA: Did Reorganization Matter?”. Mercatus Center. George Mason University. January 25, 2008.
Electronic Link: http://www.mercatus.org/repository/docLib/20080125_Political-Economy-of-FEMA.pdf
Key Words: bureaucracy, congressional oversight, FEMA reorganization, Federal Emergency Management Agency, disaster declaration, relief spending, disaster expenditures
Summary of Key Points, Issues, Conclusions:
“This paper investigates the political economy of FEMA's post-9/11 merger with the Department of Homeland Security. Using panel data for the post-DHS merger but pre-Katrina period, this paper examines how FEMA's much-debated reorganization has impacted the strong political influences on disaster declaration and relief spending identified by Garrett and Sobel (2003) before FEMA's reorganization. The authors find that although politically-important states for the president continue to have a higher rate of disaster declaration, disaster expenditures are no longer higher in states with congressional representation on FEMA oversight committees. These results suggest reorganization has reduced political pressure within FEMA.”
Name of Researcher: Julie Curry
Institution: Integrative Center for Homeland Security, Texas A&M University
Date Posted: March 28, 2008