How We Recover From The Recent Hurricanes Could Impact The National Economy For Decades

As the last TV news trucks pull out from Houston, Miami, and all the places devastated by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria, the city planners and construction crews will pull in. The apparent rebuild supports economists’ long belief that disasters boost economies because of the influx in infrastructure investments. This, however, is all an illusion that misses the hidden costs that ripple throughout our national economy. In fact, Amir Jina and Solomon Hsiang found that storms like Harvey and Irma can lower the long-run growth of the United States, effectively rewinding our economy and leaving its imprints for up to two decades.