Market‐based “disaster relief”: Katrina and the casino industry

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect the rebuilding of the casino industry has had on the recovery efforts from Katrina.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses quarterly data from four states affected by Katrina, and a simple OLS model to test the effect the casino industry has had on personal income in the states.

Findings

The paper finds that the casino industry has had a statistically significant positive impact on the economic recovery in casino states relative to non‐casino states.

Research limitations/implications

The paper examines a relatively short term. Other research has suggested that the long‐run effects of casinos are less certain. As more data become available, the model could be re‐tested.

Practical implications

These results support previous evidence on a short‐run economic stimulus effect from casinos.

Originality/value

The paper extends previous work on the Katrina recovery by including more data, including a control sample of states without casinos, and weighting the income and revenue data.

Citation

Walker, D.M. and Jackson, J.D. (2008), "Market‐based “disaster relief”: Katrina and the casino industry", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 35 No. 7, pp. 521-530. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290810886920