100: Emily Skarbek on  the Economics of Natural Disasters and the Samaritan’s Dilemma

Dr. Emily Skarbek is a Lecturer in Political Economy at King’s College London.

Emily’s research examines the role of voluntary associations in solving complex public goods problems after natural disasters.

Her empirical approach is three-pronged, drawing on archives, historical sources, and field-work following large-scale natural disasters.

In addition, Emily has a passion for the history of economic thought, which she believes can play a key role in advancing contemporary debates. She is particularly interested in the epistemic arguments of Friedrich Hayek.

In 2014, Emily was awarded the annual Gordon Tullock prize for best article published in Public Choice by a junior scholar. She is also a contributing author to several books including After Katrina: The Political Economy of Disaster and Community Rebound and Hayek and the Modern World.

Dr. Skarbek received her PhD in Economics from George Mason University and was previously an Assistant Professor at San Jose State University and a Fellow at the Center for History of Political Economy at Duke University.

Emily blogs at EconLog, one of the world’s leading economics blogs. For more on Dr. Skarbek, visit her website www.emilyskarbek.com or follow her on twitter @EmilySkarbek.

Economics:

In this episode, Emily discusses and mentions: natural disasters, political incentives and the Samaritan’s Dilemma.

Economists:

In this episode, Emily discusses and mentions: David Skarbek, Elinor Ostrom, Emily Chamlee-Wright, Virgil Storr, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, William Easterly, Claudia Williamson, James Buchanan, Daniel Kahneman, Peter Leeson and Diane Coyle.

Dr. Emily Skarbek’s Tips on Writing:

1. Write about what you are passionate about.
2. Ask interesting questions.
3. Get feedback and be open to the harshest critics or actively seek criticism.

Festival:

• Festival of Economics 2016: Bristol Festival of Ideas

Papers:

• Skarbek, E. (2016). Aid, Ethics, and the Samaritan’s Dilemma: Strategic Courage in Constitutional Entrepreneurship, Journal of Institutional Economics 12(2): 371-393.

• Skarbek, E. (2014). The Chicago Fire of 1871: A Bottom Up Approach to Disaster Relief, Public Choice  160(1): 155-180.

• Skarbek, E. (2010). Coordinating the Reconstruction of Haiti, Journal of International Peace Operations 6(2) 2010: 25-27.

• Easterly, W. & Williamson, C. R. (2011). Rhetoric versus Reality: The Best and Worst of Aid Agency Practices, World Development Vol. 39, No. 11, pp. 1930–1949.

Where to Find Emily Skarbek:

Website: www.emilyskarbek.com

Twitter: @EmilySkarbek

Books:

• The political economy of Hurricane Katrina and community rebound by Emily Chamlee-Wright and Virgil Henry Storr (Eds.).

• Community Revival in the Wake of Disaster: Lessons in Local Entrepreneurship (Perspectives from Social Economics) by Virgil Henry Storr, Stefanie Haeffele-Balch, Laura E. Grube

• The Fable of the Bees by Bernard Mandeville

• Human Action by Ludwig von Mises

• Individualsim and Economic Order by F. A. Hayek

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