In recent years , Zechmeister has examined public opinion in the wake of natural disasters . Building off surveys conducted following the Chilean and Haitian earthquakes in 2010 , Zechmeister explores in a set of papers the effect material damage and loss has on democratic attitudes and interpersonal trust . In a paper coauthored with Ryan Carlin and Gregory Love , she shows disaster victims in Chile often become less tolerant and supportive of democracy while also becoming more civically engaged . In a second paper with Carlin and Love , Zechmeister finds that , contrary to much of the existing scholarship , disaster loss can reduce social capital , but only in low state-capacity environments
Haitian earthquakes in 2010
2010 Haiti earthquake
Elizabeth Zechmeister