EfD Discussion Paper,
Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg

Abstract: In empirical studies, survey questions are typically used to measure trust; trust games are also used to measure interpersonal trust. In this paper, we measure trust in different institutions by using both trust games and survey questions. We find that generalized trust is only weakly correlated with trust in specific institutions, when elicited both by using a trust game and by using survey questions. However, the correlation between trust in a specific institution elicited through a trust game and stated trust for the same institution is stronger and statistically significant. Thus, our findings suggest that generalized trust is not an appropriate measure of institutional trust and that more specific institutional trust measures should be used.

Keywords: experiment; institutional trust; generalized trust

JEL-codes: C90; D01; D02; O43

Language: English

26 pages, July 1, 2018

Full text files

6845509  Full text

Download statistics

• Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg
• Home page for this series

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:hhs:gunefd:2018_012This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:14:35.