Changes in Social Capital during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Empirical Evidence from Singapore and Switzerland

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21738121
AutoresMijie Li (0000-0002-0434-5976, Deutsche Telekom (Singapore)), Tingting Wu (0000-0001-8236-2256, CREATe Centre), Jonas Joerin (0000-0003-1834-8112, Deutsche Telekom (Singapore)), Renate Schubert (ETH Zurich)
Año2024
Volumen25
Número4
Fecha de publicación2024-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaNatural Hazards Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1527-6988 • E-ISSN: 1527-6996
EditorialAmerican Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1061/nhrefo.nheng-2034
OpenAlexW4400422238
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas46

Social capital (SC) is a key factor of social resilience and is crucial for effective crisis response and recovery. The unprecedented levels of social distancing measures during the global Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic limited social interactions and restricted traditional support channels. This has raised the question of whether such measures may have negatively impacted SC. However, few studies have analyzed SC changes over time, in representative samples and during pandemic contexts. This study assessed SC changes during the COVID-19 pandemic among representative groups of adults living in Singapore (total n=3,774) and Switzerland (total n=4,115), respectively. We assessed changes in SC, specifically in horizontal SC (i.e., ties between individuals) and vertical SC (i.e., ties between individuals and decision makers), between June 2020 and July 2021. Respondents were recruited from Qualtrics’ panels by employing quota sampling according to Singapore’s and Switzerland’s population censuses. Key results show that the overall horizontal SC increased significantly (although modestly) in both countries. Overall vertical SC increased significantly (also modestly) in Singapore and had no significant change in Switzerland. All analyses were performed in R software (version 4.2.2). Thus, despite social distancing measures, horizontal SC and vertical SC indicators remained stable in both countries. Further studies may be warranted to determine the causal pathways involved in retaining SC in pandemic settings

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Empirical evidence · Geography · Outbreak · Pandemic · Political science · Social capital · Disaster Management and Resilience · Health disparities and outcomes · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Virology