Corruption, homelessness and disasters

Corruption is widely believed to contribute to homelessness following a disaster triggered by natural hazards, as it is known to weaken resilience, deplete resources and stifle recovery. We test the association between corruption and post-disaster homelessness using data from the Emergency Events Database and data on corruption in the construction sector from the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys. Using instrumental variables and other estimation techniques, we find that corruption is associated with significantly more people left homeless following disasters. Corruption in the construction sector appears to be driving this result. These findings underline the importance of tackling corruption and poor construction practices in vulnerable communities.