Regions of trust and distrust: How good institutions can foster social cohesion

Book section

What factors lead to greater levels of generalized trust in society? In this paper, we test four channels through which it is commonly argued trust is affected at the macro level—economic inequality, civic participation, ethnic heterogeneity, and institutional quality. In testing these propositions, the study we report offers the largest and most comprehensive sub-national assessment of this salient question to date, including 206 regions in 25 European countries using data from an original survey of over 85,000 respondents conducted in 2013. Upon mapping national and regional levels of social trust based on our novel data, we find strong variation in levels of generalized trust within many countries, a phenomenon that has been overlooked by national-level studies. We use hierarchical statistical testing to assess the strength of the four channels through which trust can be enhanced or eroded. We find strong and robust evidence that institutional quality—measured as a public sector that allocates services impartially and without corruption—is the strongest determinant of regional variations in trust within countries. Economic inequality is also a robust determinant of trust, but civic participation and ethnic heterogeneity are not significant factors in explaining variations in trust patterns.

Authors: Charron, N; Rothstein, B

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Edward Elgar
• Host title: Bridging the Prosperity Gap in the EU: The Social Challenge Ahead
• Pages: 220-242
• Publication date: 2018-02-23
• DOI: 10.4337/9781786436672.00017
• Keywords: Quality of Government; Corruption; SBTMR; Trust