Harold C. Cochrane Jr.
Abstract
The study is organized around two themes which emerge from previous studies of natural hazards: the necessity to estimate the current distributional patterns of alternative natural hazard adjustments; and to suggest how the dynami~ nature of the hazard problem provides an altered framework within which questions of distribution may be analyzed. Following these themes the historical and the current potential loss for a number of phenomena the coming San Francisco Earthquake, the coming Dade County Hurricane, the Rapid City Flood and the April 3 Tornadoes -- are estimated. The immediate losses from each event are categorized as falling along a continuum stretching from the dead and injured to those disturbed. The burdens borne by the disaster victim and the Federal government are estimated for a variety of loss spreading schemes, including Federal disaster relief and subsidized insurance. The result of this static analysis showed that a definite tendency existed for lower income individuals to bear a larger proportion of disaster losses. In addition, it was determined that the percentage of burden shouldered by the Federal government for disaster relief tended to decrease as the severity of the event increased. Finally, static analysis of the distribution question is brought to task for its failure to recognize the underlying currents of the hazard system. It is suggested that distribution of wealth alone is an insufficient indicator of well-being. It is further recommended that the static approach to distribution be revamped to include information as well as wealth. By so doing, it would be possible to grasp the movements of distributional patterns in a more meaningful way than that currently possible.
Ph.D. in Economics
University of Colorado Boulder
1975
Committee Members
Charles W. Howe
Kenneth E. Boulding