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New Evidence on Trust and Well-Being

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  • John Helliwell
  • Haifang Huang
  • Shun Wang

Abstract

This paper reports existing and fresh evidence on some of the direct and indirect linkages between trust and subjective well-being. This paper first uses data from three large international surveys – the Gallup World Poll, the World Values Survey and the European Social Survey – to estimate income-equivalent values for social trust, with a likely lower bound equivalent to a doubling of household income. [Working Paper 22450]

Suggested Citation

  • John Helliwell & Haifang Huang & Shun Wang, 2016. "New Evidence on Trust and Well-Being," Working Papers id:11131, eSocialSciences.
    • Handle: RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:11131
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David A. Fleming & Alberto Chong & Hern�n D. Bejarano, 2014. "Trust and Reciprocity in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(11), pages 1482-1493, November.
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    4. Luca Crivelli & Sara Della Bella & Mario Lucchini, 2016. "Happiness and health," Chapters, in: Luigino Bruni & Pier Luigi Porta (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Happiness and Quality of Life, chapter 17, pages 372-399, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. John F. Helliwell, 2006. "Well-Being, Social Capital and Public Policy: What's New?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(510), pages 34-45, March.
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    10. Nyla Branscombe & Angela Daley & Shelley Phipps, 2016. "Perceived Discrimination, Belonging and the Life Satisfaction of Canadian Adolescents with Disabilities," Working Papers daleconwp2016-04, Dalhousie University, Department of Economics.
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    13. Matthew G. Nagler, 2013. "Does Social Capital Promote Safety On The Roads?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 1218-1231, April.
    14. Leonard Goff & John F. Helliwell & Guy Mayraz, 2018. "Inequality Of Subjective Well‐Being As A Comprehensive Measure Of Inequality," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(4), pages 2177-2194, October.
    15. John F. Helliwell & Aneta Bonikowska & Hugh Shiplett, 2016. "Migration as a Test of the Happiness Set Point Hypothesis: Evidence from Immigration to Canada," NBER Working Papers 22601, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Yip, Winnie & Subramanian, S.V. & Mitchell, Andrew D. & Lee, Dominic T.S. & Wang, Jian & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2007. "Does social capital enhance health and well-being? Evidence from rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 35-49, January.
    17. Matthew G Nagler & Nicholas J Ward, 2016. "Lonely Highways: The Role of Social Capital in Rural Traffic Safety," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 135-156, January.
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    19. Matthew E. Kahn, 2005. "The Death Toll from Natural Disasters: The Role of Income, Geography, and Institutions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 271-284, May.
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    21. John Helliwell & Haifang Huang & Shun Wang, 2014. "Social Capital and Well-Being in Times of Crisis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 145-162, February.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. New Evidence on Trust and Well-being
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2016-09-06 01:21:12

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Savinee Suriyanrattakorn & Chia-Lin Chang, 2021. "Valuation of Trust in Government: The Wellbeing Valuation Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Kirk Hamilton & John F. Helliwell & Michael Woolcock, 2016. "Social Capital, Trust and Well-being in the Evaluation of Wealth," NBER Working Papers 22556, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1n437se8a69spq2hr64i89pc1m is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Stefano Bartolini & Francesco Sarracino, 2021. "Happier and Sustainable. Possibilities for a post-growth society," Department of Economics University of Siena 855, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    5. Conzo, Pierluigi & Aassve, Arnstein & Fuochi, Giulia & Mencarini, Letizia, 2017. "The cultural foundations of happiness," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 268-283.
    6. Leonardo Becchetti & Luca Corazzini & Vittorio Pelligra, 2018. "We Can Be Heroes. Trust and Resilience in Corrupted Economic Environments," CEIS Research Paper 429, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 11 Apr 2018.
    7. Jesse Bricker & Geng Li, 2017. "Credit Scores, Social Capital, and Stock Market Participation," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-008, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    8. Hugo Mell & Lou Safra & Perrine Demange & Yann Algan & Nicolas Baumard & Coralie Chevallier, 2020. "Early life adversity is associated with diminished social trust in adults," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/1n437se8a69, Sciences Po.
    9. Bomi Choi & Hey Jung Jun, 2022. "The Buffering Effects of Social Capital on Inequalities in Subjective Well-Being Among Older People," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 565-583, April.
    10. Hugo Mell & Lou Safra & Perrine Demange & Yann Algan & Nicolas Baumard & Coralie Chevallier, 2020. "Early life adversity is associated with diminished social trust in adults," Working Papers hal-03393061, HAL.
    11. Vanessa Sha Fan & Renuka Mahadevan, 2019. "The Role of Social Capital and Remote Chinese Villagers’ Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 1109-1128, June.
    12. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1n437se8a69spq2hr64i89pc1m is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International surveys; the Gallup World Poll; the World Values Survey; the European Social Survey; income-equivalent values; high-trust environment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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