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Trust and preferences: evidence from survey data

Author

Listed:
  • Giuseppe Albanese

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Guido de Blasio

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Paolo Sestito

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

This paper considers the role of preferences in explaining trust. By using the Bank of Italy�s Survey on Household Income and Wealth (SHIW), the paper shows that time preferences and risk preferences are key covariates of self-reported trust. They both predict negatively a measure of generalized trust; however, risk aversion is positively correlated with an index of particularized trusting behaviour (which refers to family and friends). Moreover, the results are robust to using a different data source to gauge the role of social preferences and personality traits. The study highlights that neglecting preferences when analysing the role of trust in explaining socio-economic outcomes might pose serious challenges in terms of omitted variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuseppe Albanese & Guido de Blasio & Paolo Sestito, 2013. "Trust and preferences: evidence from survey data," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 911, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_911_13
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    4. Daniela Bellani & Bruno Arpino & Daniele Vignoli, 2020. "In medio stat filius. The relationship between time preferences and fertility," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2020_02, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    5. Fulvia Pennoni & Ewa Genge, 2020. "Analysing the course of public trust via hidden Markov models: a focus on the Polish society," Statistical Methods & Applications, Springer;Società Italiana di Statistica, vol. 29(2), pages 399-425, June.
    6. 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.
    7. Giuseppe Albanese & Guido Blasio & Paolo Sestito, 2016. "My parents taught Me. Evidence on the family transmission of values," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 571-592, April.
    8. Marco Paccagnella & Paolo Sestito, 2014. "School cheating and social capital," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 367-388, August.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    trust; preferences; survey data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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