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Trust as a social norm? A lab-in-the-field experiment with refugees in Switzerland

Author

Listed:
  • Stefanie S. Baumgartner

    (University of Fribourg, Bd de Pérolles 90 CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland)

  • Fabio Galeotti

    (CNRS, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Emlyon business school, Université Jean-Monnet Saint-Etienne, GATE, 35 rue Raulin, 69007-Lyon, France)

  • Thierry Madiès

    (University of Fribourg, Bd de Pérolles 90 CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland)

  • Marie Claire Villeval

    (CNRS, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Emlyon business school, Université Jean-Monnet Saint-Etienne, GATE, 35 rue Raulin, 69007-Lyon, France; IZA, Bonn, Germany)

Abstract

Trust plays a crucial role in refugees’ integration. This study examines how social information about trust levels among peers from home and host countries affects non-Western refugees’ trust. Using a trust game, we measured experimentally trust levels among Swiss citizens, Turkish refugees, and Afghan refugees. We found that Turkish refugees exhibited higher trust levels than Afghan refugees, but no significant trust differences were found between Swiss participants and either refugee group. Turkish refugees adjusted their trust to match Swiss levels when receiving social information, but observation by compatriots reduced this effect. By contrast, Afghan refugees exhibited a more limited response to social information, except when told their behavior would be revealed, which led them to align more closely with Swiss trust levels. These findings highlight the complex impact of social information on refugee trust behavior and suggest that trust can be a social norm.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefanie S. Baumgartner & Fabio Galeotti & Thierry Madiès & Marie Claire Villeval, 2025. "Trust as a social norm? A lab-in-the-field experiment with refugees in Switzerland," Working Papers 2508, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    • Handle: RePEc:gat:wpaper:2508
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Refugees; trust; social information; lab-in-the-field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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