Friction in the System: The Impact of Administrative Burden and Housing Tenure on Disaster Aid

• In Event: Power, Protection, and Precarity: Evaluating Interventions in Housing Stability

Abstract

Disaster recovery is frequently evaluated through the lens of program eligibility; however, the physical and procedural accessibility of the bureaucracy itself serves as a significant determinant of who ultimately receives aid. In particular, renters occupy a uniquely vulnerable position in the disaster recovery landscape, often lacking the legal autonomy, buffer resources, and formal documentation typically afforded to homeowners. As the frequency and severity of natural disasters increase, federal recovery infrastructure faces mounting pressure to distribute aid equitably across highly diverse socioeconomic geographies while applicants for federal aid programs must navigate a complex ecosystem of documentation, verification, and logistics to access relief. In light of this, this study investigates the impact of housing tenure on federal disaster assistance outcomes, identifying administrative burden as a key causal mechanism, operationalized through the learning, compliance, and psychological costs experienced during the application lifecycle. While Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) policies theoretically aim to meet unmet recovery needs regardless of individual resources to achieve policy effectiveness, the application process imposes differential friction on less resourceful applicants, creating disparate outcomes in policy equity.

Utilizing a 20-year national dataset on FEMA's Individuals and Households Program (IHP), this research employs applicant-level regression and spatial analysis to evaluate these disparities. Within this dataset of 25 million applications, we incorporate intersectional indicators including disaster damages, housing tenure, household income, and neighborhood vulnerability alongside metrics operationalizing administrative burden. Controlled for damages, our findings indicate that while renters receive lower assistance in absolute dollar terms, logarithmic models indicate renters are more likely to be approved, and receive proportionally more awards. Spatial analysis reveals that these conflicting results are driven by structural frictions associated with accessibility to information and receiving support for administrative burden, and suggests selection bias in renters. Specifically, spatial variation in access is associated with heterogeneous attrition and selection effects consistent with compliance costs, disproportionately affecting renters. The results highlight how mitigating structural inequities in the disaster bureaucracy is essential to achieve equitable recovery outcomes across differing housing tenures.

Author

• Daein Kang, Georgia Institute of Technology
  Presenting Author