Fearless necessary reporting . . . Klein exposes the ‘battle of utopias’ that is currently unfolding in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico” (Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) “We are in a fight for our lives. Hurricanes Irma and María unmasked the colonialism we face in Puerto Rico, and the inequality it fosters, creating a fierce humanitarian crisis. Now we must find a path forward to equality and sustainability, a path driven by communities, not investors. And this book explains, with careful and unbiased reporting, only the efforts of our community activists can answer the paramount question: What type of society do we want to become and who is Puerto Rico for?” —Carmen Yulín Cruz, Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico In the rubble of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans and ultrarich “Puertopians” are locked in a pitched struggle over how to remake the island. In this vital and startling investigation, bestselling author and activist Naomi Klein uncovers how the forces of shock politics and disaster capitalism seek to undermine the nation’s radical, resilient vision for a “just recovery.” All royalties from the sale of this book in English and Spanish go directly to JunteGente, a gathering of Puerto Rican organizations resisting disaster capitalism and advancing a fair and healthy recovery for their island. “Klein chronicles the extraordinary grassroots resistance by the Puerto Rican people against neoliberal privatization and Wall Street greed in the aftermath of the island’s financial meltdown, of hurricane devastation, and of Washington’s imposition of an outside control board over the most important U.S. colony.” —Juan González, cohost of Democracy Now! and author of Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America

A Brookings Institution Press and the Center for the New Economy publication A non-incorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico operates under U.S. legal, monetary, security and tariff systems. Despite sharing in these and other key U.S. institutions, Puerto Rico has experienced economic stagnation and large scale unemployment since the 1970s. The island's living standards are low by U.S. standards, with a per capita income only half that of Mississippi, the poorest state. While many studies have analyzed the fiscal implications of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States, little research has focused broadly on the island's economic experience or assessed its growth prospects. In this innovative new book, economists from U.S. and Puerto Rican institutions address a range of major policy issues affecting the island's economic development. To frame the current situation, the contributors begin by assessing Puerto Rico's past experience with various growth policies. They then analyze several reforms and new initiatives in labor, education, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, migration, trade, and financing development, which they incorporate into a proposed strategy for jumpstarting Puerto Rican economic growth. Contributors include Gary Burtless (Brookings Institution); Orlando Sotomayor, Luis Rivera-Batiz, Ramón Cao, Maria Enchautegui, José Joaquín Villamil, Eileen Segarra, Marinés Aponte, and Juan Lara (University of Puerto Rico); Richard Freeman and Robert Lawrence (Harvard University); Helen Ladd (Duke University); Francisco Rivera-Batiz (Columbia University); Steven Davis and Bruce Meyer (University of Chicago); James Alm (Georgia State University); Ingo Walter, Rita Maldonado-Bear, and William Baumol (New York University); Belinda Reyes (University of California, Merced); Alan Krueger (Princeton University); Carlos Santiago (University of Wisconsin); David Audretsch (Indiana University); Ronald Fisher (Michigan State University); Fuat Andic (UN Advisor); Arturo Estrella (NY Federal Reserve); James Hanson and Daniel Lederman (World Bank); James Dietz (University of California, Fullerton); and Katherine Terrell (University of Michigan).

Feb. 10 and 11 hearings were held in Mayaguez, PR; Feb. 12 hearing was held in Ponce, PR; Feb. 13, 15-17, and 19 hearings were held in San Juan, PR. Appendix includes Government documents, organization reports, correspondence, and statistics (p. 299-568).

After Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused widespread destruction across the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, FEMA tasked the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) to work with the government of Puerto Rico, federal agencies, and other stakeholders to write a congressionally mandated economic and disaster recovery plan. This report summarizes HSOAC's strategic planning process to support the government of Puerto Rico in its development of the recovery plan. The HSOAC team developed nearly 300 potential recovery actions (courses of action) that Puerto Rico could take to repair damage from the hurricanes and address longer-term economic recovery needs. The courses of action delineate potential activities, policies, programs, and strategies designed to further the goals prioritized by the government of Puerto Rico and other stakeholders. Each individual course of action describes an approach to addressing a problem associated with hurricane damage or with a preexisting condition that inhibits economic recovery. To develop the courses of action, the HSOAC team aligned 12 teams with the FEMA sectors supporting the National Disaster Recovery Framework, ranging from water to housing. For each course of action, the team estimated the costs that would likely be incurred and identified potential sources of funding for implementation. The extent of the hurricane damage, combined with the preexisting economic challenges, meant that the recovery actions identified covered every aspect of a modern economy. The hundreds of courses of action represent complex actions that need to be understood in context with how they redress these challenges, with insights into how they connect with the key interests of inclusiveness and innovation, what their contributions will be toward meeting the strategic objectives that the governor of Puerto Rico identified, and their impact on the total cost of the plan. To help the government of Puerto Rico select a cohesive and effective set of courses of action for its recovery plan, the HSOAC team bundled these courses of action into portfolios and developed a unique decision support tool to summarize and synthesize possible options. Ultimately, the analysis and support provided by the HSOAC team facilitated the governor's final decision on which courses of action and portfolios to select, but neither HSOAC nor the decision support engagements exclusively determined the content of the final recovery plan.

This collection of 120 short economic essays explores challenging aspects of the island's economy and provides insights for leaders in business, government, academia, non-profits, and other entities.