How do disasters affect intergroup perceptions? Evidence from the 2018 Sulawesi Earthquake

Abstract

This study investigates whether and how natural disasters affect intergroup perceptions, particularly focusing on subjective expectations for emergency support from other groups in the future. We conduct a household survey in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, which has experienced religious conflicts and was heavily hit by the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake. Our estimation results from the survey data indicate that individuals who suffered from the earthquake exhibited higher expectations of receiving emergency support from other religious groups in future disasters. We further show that the direct and indirect experience of receiving actual support from other religious groups after the earthquake contributed to better intergroup perceptions. However, the effect of the earthquake on intergroup perceptions of future support is heterogeneous depending on the characteristics of households. Notably, people who experienced severe damage from the earthquake, such as loss of any close person or damage by liquefaction, or who used to live in a major conflict area tended to have poorer perceptions toward other religious groups than otherwise.