Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-09-01
Jacob L. Vigdor of Duke University reviews “Risking House and Home: Disasters, Cities, Public Policy” by John M. Quigley, Larry A. Rosenthal,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Nine papers, originally presented at the Berkeley Symposium on Real Estate, Catastrophic Risk, and Public Policy held in March 2006, examine the use of risk assessment in contending with the devastation caused by war, terrorism, and natural forces. Papers discuss public versus private underwriting of catastrophic risk--lessons from the California Earthquake Authority; financing catastrophe insurance--a new proposal; reflections on U.S. disaster insurance policy for the twenty-first century; obstacles to clear thinking about natural disasters--five lessons for policy; macroeconomic impacts of catastrophic events--the influence of resilience; Hurricane Katrina--catastrophic impacts and alarming lessons; economic resilience, fiscal resilience, and federalism--evidence from 9/11; the economic impacts of alternative terrorist attacks on the twin ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach; and socioeconomic differences in household automobile ownership rates--implications for evacuation policy. Quigley is I. Donald Terner Distinguished Professor, and Rosenthal is Executive Director of the Program on Housing and Urban Policy, at the University of California, Berkeley. No index.”