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A note on the theory and measurement of trust in explaining differences in economic growth

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  • Sjoerd Beugelsdijk

Abstract

This paper takes issue with the trend to attribute differences in economic growth rates to differences in interpersonal trust. I discuss the World Values Survey (WVS) measure that is used to operationalise trust at the macro level. I hypothesise that there is a mismatch between the theoretical argument and the empirical operationalisation of trust. Instead of measuring trust, the WVS measure may instead proxy the well-functioning of institutions. I provide circumstantial evidence for this thesis by a principal components analysis of trust and institutions and a robustness test of Zak and Knack's (2001. Trust and growth, Economic Journal, vol. 111, 295--321) seminal study on trust and economic growth. Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.

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  • Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2006. "A note on the theory and measurement of trust in explaining differences in economic growth," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 30(3), pages 371-387, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:30:y:2006:i:3:p:371-387
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/bei064
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