Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/289909 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-1192
Publisher: 
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Washington, DC
Abstract: 
Political trust is foundational to democratic legitimacy, representative governance, and the provision of effective public policy. Various shocks can influence this trust, steering countries onto positive or negative trajectories. This study examines whether natural disasters can impact general political trust and if disaster relief efforts can mitigate these effects. We investigate the relationships between disaster, trust, and aid using novel survey data collected before and after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico City in September 2017. Our findings reveal that the disaster resulted in an 11% decrease in general political trust. Additionally, we demonstrate that geographical proximity to disaster relief efforts may counterbalance this decline in trust. This study contributes to the scholarship on the politics of disasters and offers policy implications, highlighting the role of disaster assistance in potentially restoring general political trust after a disaster.
Subjects: 
Political trust
Natural disaster
Natural experiment
Aid relief
Development
JEL: 
H84
Q54
D72
Z13
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc-nd Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.