o Time : November 16, Friday 12:00 ~ 2:00 p.m.

o Venue : 9705(The 7th floor seminar room)


Measuring the Impact of a Catastrophic Event: Integrating Geographic Information System with Social Accounting Matrix


Abstract

To measure the general equilibrium impact of a catastrophic event, in this paper I integrate the visualization capability of a Geographic Information System (GIS) with a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) model. I employ GIS to determine the extent of the direct impact, which I then feed into a SAM model to generate region-wide estimates. I apply this framework to estimate the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the production economy and the distribution of income among New Orleans households. I found robust evidence that social services were the hardest-hit sector, and that low-income households were the group that suffered the most in the period immediately after the disaster struck. Finally, I discuss the potential applications of my integrated framework for hazard mitigation policies.