The Economic Consequences Of Terrorism: The Aftermath Of 9/11 On The American Domestic Economy

In recent years, Western countries have faced the persistent threat of terrorism, posing significant challenges to their security and stability. Various extremist groups, such as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and Al-Qaeda, have targeted these nations to spread fear, promote their radical ideologies, and interfere with economic stability. This dissertation aims to investigate the determinants of economic disruption linked to terrorist attacks and assess the magnitude of their impact with the ultimate goal of drafting a series of policy recommendations or “good measures” to be followed in the future. The study was conducted through a thorough investigation of institutional documents and existing papers, focusing specifically on a study published by the Terrorist Economic Impact Modelling Forum (TEIMF), a collaborative team effort which was incredibly helpful in both the individuation of the factors responsible for economic disruption and for quantifying the economic impact. One important research finding highlights the significant influence of consumer behaviour (or its lack of resilience) as a primary driver of economic disruption. This observation underscores the need to examine the disregard exhibited by policymakers towards this matter. As a result, it is concluded that institutional figures should not solely concentrate on monetary and fiscal policies but should also assign appropriate importance to the "resilience factor" by formulating pertinent documents such as emergency protocols and regulations.