Social Capital Theory and Quantitative Approaches in Measurements: Disaster Literature Focus

Disaster recovery depends heavily on the support of social networks and the resources they can generate. Yet such support is difficult to measure and assess. This paper reviews existing quantitative approaches to measure social capital within a disaster context. The article addresses (1) how is social capital conceptualized in the disaster literature? and (2) what social capital measures have been used based on existing conceptual frameworks (e.g., bonding, bridging, and linking)? We review how social capital has been defined and what properties of social capital make it important in the disaster planning contexts. Then we explore and assess existing approaches used to measure social capital while offering suggestions for potential improvements. These potential improvements to social capital indices will capture and measure social capital in a more comprehensive way and have a more solid theoretical basis based on the social capital and disaster resilience literature. Each type of social capital is expected to have different consequences and effects on disaster planning processes and phases; therefore, it is important to distinguish and measure social capital variables in a holistic way for policymakers and practitioners to make use of social capital information in preparing for disasters.