Signals, Channels, and Political Connections in Government Disaster Response.

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the motivations of governments, both foreign and domestic, in responding to natural disasters. I address government responses to natural disasters in the following contexts: 1) the use of signaling by aid-giving donor countries in providing humanitarian relief to non-strategic recipients; 2) the effect of donor types and recipient democratic institutions on the channels of relief aid delivery; and 3) the influence of political connections between upper-level and lower-level politicians on reconstruction fund distribution in a disaster-prone country.