Terrorism and the Resilience of Cities

James Harrigan (1) , Philippe Martin (2)

1 Department of Economics (Virginia)
2 ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po)

Harrigan and Martin assess the viability of major cities, and New York in particular, in the face of catastrophes such as terrorist attacks by considering why cities exist in the first place. They conclude that the same forces thought to lead to the formation of cities--namely, the economic gains derived from the proximity of firms to markets, suppliers, and a large labor pool--help to preserve cities at risk of terrorism and other catastrophic events. Furthermore, given the considerable size of the economic gains generated by major cities, New York and its counterparts should be extremely robust in the event of future occurrences.

Domaines: Economies et finances

James Harrigan, Philippe Martin. Terrorism and the Resilience of Cities. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2002, pp.97-116. ⟨hal-01038083⟩