An economic and ethical analysis of the Katrina disaster

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply economic and ethical analysis to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina to determine which approaches to disaster relief work best and which should be abandoned. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a combination of narrative with argument and analysis. Findings Government involvement in disaster relief has proven to be economically inefficient and also rights‐violating. Private sector initiatives and economic and political freedom provide better solutions. Practical implications The findings point to ways that can improve the economic efficiency of providing disaster relief while also safeguarding property and contract rights. Originality/value This paper combines economic and ethical analysis and includes discussions from the perspectives of both utilitarian ethics and rights‐based ethics, which is not usually done in the economics literature.