Can't Shake It Off: Earthquakes and Social Cohesion in Italy

Daria Denti, Alessandra Faggian, Marco Modica and Ilan Noy

No 12585, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Do earthquakes strengthen social cohesion or undermine it? While some theories suggest they strengthen social bonds, others suggest they lead to social disintegration. We add to the limited causal evidence on this phenomenon using the 2012 Northern Italy earthquake, and exploit a unique dataset that captures different earthquake characteristics and multiple dimensions of social cohesion through behavioral measures. Difference-in-differences and event-study estimates show that the earthquake shifted behavior toward individualism and out-group hostility, and that short-run increases in linking social capital were followed by later erosion. Critically, dwelling damage had stronger and more persistent effects than the physical shaking, suggesting that visible, measurable destruction has a more profound impact on social cohesion. These findings further advance our understanding by demonstrating that different dimensions of social cohesion respond differently to earthquakes, with varying recovery patterns depending on earthquake characteristics.

Keywords: disasters; earthquake; social norms; social cohesion; individualism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 J15 K42 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-inv, nep-law and nep-soc
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