Allison Grossman

Allison N. Grossman was a postdoctoral fellow at the Immigration Policy Lab. Her research investigates how cooperation between international actors and governments of “fragile” states can mitigate suffering and improve welfare in West Africa and the Sahel. Allison received her PhD in political science at the University of California, Berkeley, studying the domestic political consequences of international intervention. She also holds a BA in political science and human rights studies from Barnard College.

King Center Supported Research

2021 - 2022 Academic Year | Global Development Research Funding

Managing Humanitarian Emergencies: How Recipient Governments Constrain Humanitarian Aid

In the wake of natural disasters, humanitarian aid can make the difference between life and death for people in harm's way. But despite the suffering of their citizens, states sometimes fail to secure international humanitarian aid or conceal the existence of an emergency. Their actions can prevent or delay the delivery of all humanitarian aid. This paper answers two related questions: under what conditions do recipient governments seek humanitarian aid after natural disasters? How do their actions affect the international community's response to emergencies? To answer these questions, I build a dataset of government policy responses to natural disasters and test candidate explanations.