Government provision of disaster transfers is typically hampered by liquidity constraints and by weak rules and administrative capacity to disburse reconstruction resources. We show that by easing these hurdles, Mexico’s indexed disaster fund (Fonden) considerably accelerates economic recovery after a disaster. To estimate Fonden impact on recovery, as measured by night lights, we exploit the heavy rainfall index that determines program eligibility. We find that, for one year after a disaster, eligible municipalities are 6 percent brighter than those ineligible, with gains likely concentrated among less resilient municipalities. We additionally document how Fonden rules shield resources from political abuse. JEL: Q54, H12, H84, I38, O10.

中文翻译：

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恢复规则：指数化灾难基金对墨西哥应对冲击的影响

政府提供灾难转移支付通常受到流动性限制以及支付重建资源的规则和行政能力薄弱的阻碍。我们表明，通过缓解这些障碍，墨西哥的指数灾难基金 (Fonden) 大大加速了灾难后的经济复苏。为了估计 Fonden 对恢复的影响（通过夜间灯光测量），我们利用了决定计划资格的强降雨指数。我们发现，在灾难发生后的一年内，符合条件的城市比不符合条件的城市亮 6%，收益可能集中在韧性较差的城市。我们还记录了 Fonden 规则如何保护资源免受政治滥用。JEL：Q54、H12、H84、I38、O10。