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Social trust and human development

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  • Özcan, Burcu
  • Bjørnskov, Christian

Abstract

A series of studies connect social trust to economic growth. In this paper, we explore the connection between trust and a broader measure of development, the UN Human Development Index. We find that trust is significantly associated with faster human development in the 1980–2005 period. The impact of trust occurs mainly in less democratic countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Özcan, Burcu & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2011. "Social trust and human development," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 753-762.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:40:y:2011:i:6:p:753-762
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2011.08.007
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    Cited by:

    1. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    2. Svendsen, Gunnar Lind Haase & Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard, 2016. "How did trade norms evolve in Scandinavia? Long-distance trade and social trust in the Viking age," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 198-205.
    3. Aleksandra Gawel & Timo Toikko, 2023. "Quality of Governance and Welfare Generosity as Institutional Predictors of Entrepreneurship: European Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    4. Stephanie Kumah & Samuel Brazys, 2016. "Democracy or Accountability? Governance and Social Spending in Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(2), pages 286-299, February.
    5. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/432sbils8u9t7qa99cii5psht1 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Muhammad Umar Bello & David Martin @ Daud Juanil & Rozilah Kasim & Muhammad Najib Razali & Yunos Ngadiman & Talib Bon, 2018. "Evidence of Municipal Awareness as a Construct for Enhancing Citizen Satisfaction in Municipal Council of Malaysia," Traektoriâ Nauki = Path of Science, Altezoro, s.r.o. & Dialog, vol. 4(2), pages 1001-1012, February.
    7. Moshirian, Fariborz & Thi Nguyen, Thuy & Zhang, Bohui, 2022. "How does firm size explain cross-country differences in ownership concentration?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Gioacchino Fazio & Francesca Giambona & Erasmo Vassallo & Elli Vassiliadis, 2018. "A Measure of Trust: The Italian Regional Divide in a Latent Class Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 209-242, November.
    9. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    10. Johan Graafland, 2023. "On Rule of Law, Civic Virtues, Trust, and Happiness," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(4), pages 1799-1824, August.
    11. Czapinski, Janusz, 2013. "The economics of happiness and psychology of wealth," MPRA Paper 52897, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Batrancea Larissa, 2015. "The Link Between Human Development And Tax Compliance: Evidence From A Mediation Analysis," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 6, pages 41-45, December.
    13. Nabamita Dutta & Lisa Giddings & Russell S. Sobel, 2022. "Does Trust Always Help Gender Role Attitudes? The Role of Individualism and Collectivism," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 379-408, January.
    14. Horváth, Roman, 2013. "Does trust promote growth?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 777-788.
    15. Zuo, Jingjing & Huang, Changqing & Qiu, Baoyin & Mai, Ruidong, 2023. "The construction of social credit system and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    16. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/432sbils8u9t7qa99cii5psht1 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Mateusz Borkowski, 2024. "Trust and economic development on the example of European economies in 2017–2020: PLS-SEM modeling," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(5), pages 4257-4280, October.
    18. Peiró-Palomino, Jesús & Gianmoena, Lisa & Picazo-Tadeo, Andrés J. & Rios, Vicente, 2024. "Social trust and the advanced aspects of social progress. Evidence for the European regions," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    19. Wahl, Fabian, 2012. "Why it matters what people think: Beliefs, legal origins and the deep roots of trust," FZID Discussion Papers 52-2012, University of Hohenheim, Center for Research on Innovation and Services (FZID).
    20. Johan Graafland & Harmen Verbruggen, 2022. "Free-Market, Perfect Market and Welfare State Perspectives on “Good” Markets: an Empirical Test," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(2), pages 1113-1136, April.
    21. Kee Hoon Chung & Hyeok Yong Kwon, 2021. "Trust and the protection of property rights: evidence from global regions," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 493-513, December.
    22. Aleksandra Gawel & Timo Toikko, 2021. "Trust in European Institutions in Explaining the Entrepreneurship in European Union Countries," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, May.
    23. Jesús Peiró-Palomino & Lisa Gianmoena & Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo & Vicente Ríos, 2023. "Does social trust determine social progress? Evidence for the European regions," Working Papers 2305, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social trust; human development;

    JEL classification:

    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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