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Changes in Inequality and Generalized Trust in Europe

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  • Javier Olivera

Abstract

This paper analyses the determinants of trust in a pool of 34 European countries over the period 2002–2012. We find that income inequality is negatively related with generalized trust when we analyze the pooled data of individuals with multilevel models, confirming a well-established result in the analysis of cross-country differences in trust. However, we are unable to find the same significant relationship when we estimate fixed effects models with a panel dataset composed by countries. It is plausible that unobserved effects may account for the significant and negative relationship between economic inequality and trust at the cross-sectional level. In contrast, in the fixed effects models, we find negative and significant effects of ethnic and linguistic fractionalization, discrimination (general or based on migrant status) and crime rates on trust. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

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  • Javier Olivera, 2015. "Changes in Inequality and Generalized Trust in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 21-41, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:124:y:2015:i:1:p:21-41
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-014-0777-5
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    1. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/432sbils8u9t7qa99cii5psht1 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Dorrit Posel, 2022. "Within-Race Trust and the Trust Radius: Race Differences in Post-Apartheid South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 649-664, November.
    3. Walle, Yabibal Mulualem, 2022. "Determinants of social cohesion: Cross-country evidence," IDOS Discussion Papers 18/2022, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    4. Palmisano, Flaviana & Sacchi, Agnese, 2024. "Trust in public institutions, inequality, and digital interaction: Empirical evidence from European Union countries," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    5. Silke Goubin, 2018. "Is Inequality a Latent Construct? An Assessment of Economic Inequality Indicators and Their Relation with Social Cohesion in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 21-40, February.
    6. Georg Kanitsar, 2022. "The Inequality-Trust Nexus Revisited: At What Level of Aggregation Does Income Inequality Matter for Social Trust?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 171-195, August.
    7. Choi, Soobin & Lee, Moosung, 2021. "Diversity as an opportunity or a challenge? A cross-national study of ethnic diversity and students’ generalized trust," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Cao, Jiyin & Galinsky, Adam D., 2020. "The Diversity-Uncertainty-Valence (DUV) model of generalized trust development," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 49-64.
    9. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/432sbils8u9t7qa99cii5psht1 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Shahla Akram & Zahid Pervaiz, 2024. "The role of institutions and social inclusion in trust building," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 3887-3903, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Generalized trust; Income inequality; Europe; Social attitudes; D31; D63; Z13;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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