Citation

Calo-Blanco A, Kovářík J, Mengel F, Romero JG. PLoS One 2017; 12(6): e0176885.

Affiliation

Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Santiago, Chile.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0176885

PMID

28591148

Abstract

Do adversarial environmental conditions create social cohesion? We provide new answers to this question by exploiting spatial and temporal variation in exposure to earthquakes across Chile. Using a variety of methods and controlling for a number of socio-economic variables, we find that exposure to earthquakes has a positive effect on several indicators of social cohesion. Social cohesion increases after a big earthquake and slowly erodes in periods where environmental conditions are less adverse. Our results contribute to the current debate on whether and how environmental conditions shape formal and informal institutions.

Language: en