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Religion and trust in strangers among China's rural-urban migrants

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  • Niu, Geng
  • Zhao, Guochang

Abstract

During China's rapid urbanization, the social marginalization of its rural-urban migrants has attracted increasing scholarly and social attention. At the same time, China is experiencing a rising tide of religion, the impact of which on social integration remains unexplored. Based on a large-scale survey for rural-urban migrants, we find that being a religious believer is associated with a higher level of trust towards strangers. In addition, participating in religious-related activities has a positive impact on trust for both believers and non-believers. We test the robustness of our results using instrumental variable analysis. We conjecture that prosocial values in religious teaching and social interaction opportunities contribute to rural-urban migrants' generalized trust. Our results indicate that informal institution such as religion can be important in forming social capital for marginalized social groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Niu, Geng & Zhao, Guochang, 2018. "Religion and trust in strangers among China's rural-urban migrants," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 265-272.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:50:y:2018:i:c:p:265-272
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2018.05.005
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhu, Chen & Shen, Jim Huangnan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Liu, Shouying, 2022. "Does religion belief matter to self-employment of rural elderly? Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Chang Li & Xiaohui Huang & Yu Yuan, 2023. "Territory Identity and Ritual Life of Religious Spaces in Urbanized Communities: A Case Study of Jiangsu," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    4. Horak, Sven & Klein, Andreas & Ahlstrom, David & Li, Xiaomei, 2024. "Resilience or decline of informal networks? Examining the role of trust context in network societies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(4).
    5. Luo, Jun & Wang, Xinxin, 2020. "Hukou identity and trust—Evidence from a framed field experiment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    6. Lu, Liping & Wu, Yiping, 2020. "Does religion enhance firm performance? Evidence from private firms in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    7. Miao, Shuchao & Chi, Jing & Liao, Jing & Qian, Long, 2021. "How does religious belief promote farmer entrepreneurship in rural China?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 95-104.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Generalized trust; Religiosity; China; Rural-urban migrants; Social interaction; Informal institution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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