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Political Trust in Italy: How Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors Shape Confidence in Parties

Author

Listed:
  • Massimo Arnone

    (Unict - Università degli studi di Catania = University of Catania)

  • Carlo Drago

    (UNICUSANO - University Niccolò Cusano = Università Niccoló Cusano)

  • Alberto Costantiello

    (LUM - Università LUM Giuseppe Degennaro = University Giuseppe Degennaro)

  • Angelo Leogrande

    (LUM - Università LUM Giuseppe Degennaro = University Giuseppe Degennaro)

Abstract

is a general evaluation tool for gauging corporation and government commitment to sustainability, ethical governance, and social equity. ESG is a tool for responsible business improvement, environment protection, and social integration, and for harmonization with society at large. How political trust and ESG interrelate will depend on a variety of institution, economy, and society factors, and for these reasons, Italy is a useful case study, with its regionality and diversity of regions, with Northern Italy having increased economic development, efficient institution, and political stability, and Southern Italy with its increased difficulty in terms of economy, low institution trust, and poor governance infrastructure. With such a divide, questions arise regarding trust in political parties and its impact, for example, on ESG adoption and, in reverse, ESG practice and its impact, one such hypothesis being that increased political trust will stimulate ESG through a secure institution environment in which companies and governments can practice long-term programs in terms of sustainability with public support. Areas with high political party trust can have effective ESG policies, with political stability undergirding investments in governance and sustainability. In less political trust areas, institution doubt can counteract ESG development, with less effective governance and less accountability for companies. There is a counter view that effective ESG development can actually generate political trust. Where governments and companies actively promote ESG values, citizens can perceive political institutions to be more responsible, transparent, and concerned with social and environment welfare. Trust in political parties supporting and putting ESG-related policies into practice could increase through such a perception. On the other hand, when ESG policies become cosmetic and symbolic, trust in politics will not be restored and could even become eroded, when citizens perceive such programs for sustainability as political rhetoric and not real improvements in governance (Gamalerio, 2020; Maccaferri and Mammone, 2022; Gavana et al., 2022; Robinson, 2022).

Suggested Citation

  • Massimo Arnone & Carlo Drago & Alberto Costantiello & Angelo Leogrande, 2025. "Political Trust in Italy: How Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors Shape Confidence in Parties," Working Papers hal-04920996, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-04920996
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04920996v1
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political Trust Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Institutional Governance Regional Disparities Sustainability Policies. JEL CODES: D72 G34 Q58 R58 M14; Political Trust; Environmental; Social; and Governance (ESG); Institutional Governance; Regional Disparities; Sustainability Policies. JEL CODES: D72; G34; Q58; R58; M14;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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