Social capital as a policy catalyst: Enhancing municipal investment in climate risk reduction and adaptation

Does social capital guide municipalities toward improved investment in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation? This article investigates whether communities with high vulnerability to climate change risks and strong social capital traits are more likely to invest in preparedness for climate change disasters. We leverage the exogenous variation of local downpours in Chile from 2009 to 2018 as a catalyst for increased awareness to examine the effects of social capital on public investment in adaptation. Our findings reveal that linking and bridging social capital levels affect preparedness as communities experience more downpours, while bonding social capital levels have no effect. These results suggest that linking and bridging could steer policymakers toward increased investment, contributing to more resilient and sustainable communities in the face of climate change. Furthermore, social capital may have the potential to shift policymakers’ focus from popular short-term disaster relief spending to long-term preparedness investments.