While emergency shelter reconstruction can have positive income and employment multipliers, it is critical to bear in mind that it is the provision of shelter which is critical for generating the positive impact. The examples for shelter provision in the Gujarat and Maharashtra earthquakes show that if local materials, local masons and suitable upgradation of owner built housing are promoted, sustainability and positive employment multipliers are generated. However supply of emergency shelter through contracting creates employment and incomes outside the local economy and can even displace local incomes and employments.
Provision of local material and appropriate technology based shelter is more likely to be owned by the disaster affected communities and thereby result in resilience. However this is time consuming and requires a great deal of complementary processes, including local training, awareness campaigns and appropriate delivery mechanisms.