Which factors influence how voters evaluate policy responses to economic shocks from natural disasters? This paper uses an original survey experiment among American citizens to test three fairness-based explanations—affectedness, need, and political ties—and compares those stated preferences to observed disaster-relief allocations from 1993–2008. The central contribution is a combined experimental and observational assessment that links mass preferences over distributional fairness to actual allocation patterns, while preserving the authors’ qualifications.
Original survey experiment Focus on affectedness and need Comparison to observed relief (1993–2008)
Data and methods
The authors analyze experimental data from an original survey conducted among American citizens and then juxtapose those experimental preference patterns with observed disaster-relief distributions from 1993–2008. The abstract reports a survey experiment as the core method and uses historical allocation data for the comparative component.
Main findings
According to the abstract, voters’ preferred disaster responses are driven primarily by affectedness and need rather than political ties. When the authors compare voters’ stated preferences to actual relief distributions, they find that observed allocations largely mirror preferences with respect to affectedness and need but do not reflect the political-ties dimension.
- Voter preferences: affectedness and need matter most.
- Observed relief allocations: align with affectedness and need, not political ties.
