Institutional trust and the provision of public goods: When do individual costs matter? The case of recycling

Abstract

This research asks whether and how institutional trust-trust in the reliability, effectiveness, and legitimacy of public institutions-promotes the provision of public goods. To understand the underlying mechanisms, we apply three choice models to the example of recycling behavior: a standard rational choice model, the low-cost hypothesis, and a dual-process theory. The models carry competing hypotheses about the interplay of trust and incentives in recycling behavior. Using survey data collected in four countries (Sweden, Denmark, the United States, and the United Kingdom), we find a positive and significant interaction effect of institutional trust and recycling costs on self-reported recycling behavior. No such interaction was found using generalized social trust as a second measure of trust. Our results support a dual-process perspective and indicate that high levels of institutional trust

Interdisciplinary, systematic review found influences on household recycling behaviour are many and multifaceted, requiring a multi-level approach.

“…It is hoped that the learnings in conducting interdisciplinary systematic reviews will also contribute to improving solutions to other behaviour-related environmental issues. Blose et al, 2020;D'Amato et al, 2019;Escario et al, 2020;Guiot et al, 2019;Harring et al, 2019;Hellwig et al, 2019;Hicks, 2011;Jalil, 2015;Liu & Segev, 2017;Miliute-Plepiene et al, 2016;Minelgaitė & Liobikienė, 2019;Onel & Mukherjee, 2014;Passafaro & Livi, 2017;Rompf et al, 2017;Saphores & Nixon, 2014;Segev, 2015;Stewart, 2011;Swami et al, 2011;Tabernero et al, 2015;Gender Agovino et al, 2015Blose et al, 2020;Chierrito-Arruda et al, 2018;Escario et al, 2020;Harring et al, 2019;Hellwig et al, 2019;Hicks, 2011;Kirakozian, 2016;Kirby, 2020;Liu & Segev, 2017;Miliute-Plepiene et al, 2016;Minelgaitė & Liobikienė, 2019;Mintz et al, 2019;Onel & Mukherjee, 2014;Saphores & Nixon, 2014;Seacat & Northrup, 2010;Stewart, 2011;Swami et al, 2011;Ethnicity Knickmeyer, 2020Liu & Segev, 2017;…”

“…Education Agovino et al, 2015;D'Amato et al, 2019;Escario et al, 2020;Harring et al, 2019;Hicks, 2011;Jalil, 2015;Miliute-Plepiene et al, 2016;Passafaro & Livi, 2017;Saphores & Nixon, 2014;Seacat & Northrup, 2010;Stewart, 2011;Tabernero et al, 2015; Employment status Seacat & Northrup, 2010;Profession Jalil, 2015Kirakozian, 2016; Social class / SEIFA Onel & Mukherjee, 2014; Cultural consumption Agovino et al, 2015 Political ideology Lewis, 2020 Psychological General environment Environmental Values / worldviews^ Best & Mayerl, 2013;Charlier & Kirakozian, 2020;Felix & Almaguer, 2019;Freed, 2015;Kirby, 2020;Liu & Segev, 2017;Meloni et al, 2019;Meneses, 2010;Mintz et al, 2019;Rompf et al, 2017;Segev, 2015;Setiawan et al, 2020;Stewart, 2011; Environmental concern Abbott et al, 2013;Best & Mayerl, 2013;Chierrito-Arruda et al, 2018;Cohen et al, 2021;D'Amato et al, 2019;Elgaaied, 2012;Escario et al, 2020;Freed, 2015;Harring et al, 2019;<...…”

A Matter of Trust? Political Trust and the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Scholars in political science argue that trust in political authorities is essential for the functioning of political systems (Norris 2017;Hetherington 1998;Levi and Stoker 2000). In economic research, trust as an informal institution is argued to be an important driver for human behavior and consequently, economic performance (Pitlik and Rode 2017;Rompf et al 2017;Lekovic 2012).…”

Generalized and Institutional Trust: Their Impacts on First‐ and Second‐Order Environmental Cooperation

“…When under institutional control, non‐participation is not an option. More importantly, Rompf, Kroneberg, and Schlösser () argued that people may subjectively assume that an institution properly governs and solves an environmental problem even if there is little evidence that the problem is being addressed. As such, individuals will continue to directly protect the environment via first‐order cooperation because they trust that their approved institution is addressing concerns and because they are required to participate.…”