Disaster, Aid, and Preferences: The Long-run Impact of the Tsunami on Giving in Sri Lanka

Our results reconcile that part of the literature showing evidence of natural shocks having a detrimental effect on social preferences (Fleming, Chong, Alberto, & Bejarano, 2011; Cassar, Grosjean, & Whitt, 2013) with that supporting, instead, a positive link (Solnit, 2009; Whitt & Wilson, 2007; Cassar, Healy, & Von Kessler, 2011). Furthermore, since our study focuses on the long-run impact of a natural disaster, previous results on short-run effects are not necessarily inconsistent with ours.