Trust and Reciprocity in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters |
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Authors: | David A. Fleming Alberto Chong Hernán D. Bejarano |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USADavid.Fleming@CSIRO.au;3. Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada;4. Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA |
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Abstract: | AbstractBeyond all the material and economic losses that natural disasters produce, post-disaster environments can alter the social capital of a community by affecting social norms, attitudes, and people’s behaviour. To analyse this issue, we empirically investigate the effect that the aftermath of a disaster can have on trust and reciprocity of people within communities. We do this by comparing outcomes of trust games conducted in earthquake-affected and non-affected rural villages one year after the 2010 Chilean earthquake. Our findings show that while trust levels do not differ across cases, reciprocity is lower in earthquake-affected areas. |
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