The New York Times article, "Do Natural Disasters Stimulate Economic Growth," stated that some economists propose that despite the destruction, natural disasters can spur economic growth. Through investing in rebuilding infrastructure, the Gross National Product is boosted through these investments. For example following the Sichuan Province earthquake in China, billions of dollars of infrastructure investment spurred the country's economic growth by 0.3 percent.
In poorer countries, natural disasters can put a strain on public finances, and thus negatively affect development. In a report by Charlotte Benson and Edward Clay, "Understanding the Economic and Financial Impacts of Natural Disasters," published by the World Bank, it was reported that poor countries suffer a decrease in revenues after natural disasters. Governments in these countries have to reallocate already meager resources toward rebuilding at the expense of other social needs, such as health care or food security.
Sometimes natural disasters can generate more capital -- but in other times they can serve to redistribute the existing capital. In the New Yorker, James Surewiecki indicates in "Creative Destruction" that following a disaster, money moves from taxpayers to the construction industry, insurance companies pay claims to policy holders, and doctors may incur more profits due to a surge in disaster victims. This redistribution of resources boosts the economic standing of various sectors in the economy. For example hurricane Andrew in Florida spurred a sharp employment growth in the construction industry.
Natural disasters inevitably destroy infrastructure, such as roads, factories, business premises and communication networks. This causes massive disruption to business and to productivity in the country. Businesses go at losses and sometimes have to lay off some employees, or shut down altogether. Disruption of business results in low economic output and a high unemployment rate. For example, hurricane Katrina (2005) caused millions of workers in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi to lose their jobs; the economy was further depressed by the reduction in consumer spending.
Due to scarcity, natural disasters often create a large spike in the prices of various goods, especially food and minerals like gold and oil. Although high commodity prices may be beneficial to producers and producing nations, these prices may inhibit consumer spending. Low consumer spending does not spur economic growth, but slows it down. Reported by the Daily Finance in "Natural Disasters Send Commodity Prices Soaring," the 2009-2010 droughts in Russia caused the country to reduce the export of wheat. This triggered a rise in global wheat prices, which then affected the prices on animal feed and global meat prices.