Interpersonal trust and welfare state support

Daniele, Gianmarco; Geys, Benny

doi:10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2015.03.005

Cited by 97 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…When citizens perceive state institutions to be fair, less corrupt, and more efficient, they are far more likely to favor higher taxes and government spending on welfare programs (Dimitrova-Grajzl et al, 2012;Svallfors, 2013;Pitlik and Kouba, 2015;Daniele and Geys, 2015;Pitlik and Rode, 2016). When they trust and care about the wellbeing of their fellow citizens, they will be more inclined to support welfare programs that Fincher, C. L. and Thornhill, R. (2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other words, only because people want a more equal society does not necessarily mean that they will get one. Instead, the quality of formal institutions can mediate this relationship and recent studies suggest that in countries where people have trust in the public sector, they are far more likely to be willing to pay higher taxes and trust government officials to do the right thing (Dimitrova-Grajzl et al, 2012;Svallfors, 2013;Pitlik and Kouba, 2015;Daniele and Geys, 2015;Pitlik and Rode, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People in more individualistic cultures are also more likely to tolerate minorities and have higher levels of interpersonal trust and lower levels of corruption (Thornhill and Fincher, 2014;Allik and Realo, 2004), which can further reduce transaction costs and facilitate market exchange leading to higher rates of human and physical capital investment, technological innovation and long-run economic growth (Oyserman et al, 2002;Gorodnichenko and Roland, 2012) and encouraging people to put more effort and get a fairer share of the economic pie (Alesina and Angeletos, 2005). When citizens perceive state institutions to be fair, less corrupt, and more efficient, they are far more likely to tolerate higher taxes and government spending on welfare programs (Dimitrova-Grajzl et al, 2012;Svallfors, 2013;Pitlik and Kouba, 2015;Daniele and Geys, 2015;Pitlik and Rode, 2016). When they trust and care about the wellbeing of their fellow citizens, they will be more inclined to support welfare programs that benefit others.…”

Section: Figure 1: Individualism and Income Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are individualistic societies less equal? Evidence from the parasite stress theory of values

Nikolaev

Boudreaux

Salahodjaev

2017

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

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It is widely believed that individualistic societies, which emphasize personal freedom, award social status for accomplishment, and favor minimal government intervention, are more prone to higher levels of income inequality compared to more collectivist societies, which value conformity, loyalty, and tradition and favor more interventionist policies. The results in this paper, however, challenge this conventional view. Drawing on a rich literature in biology and evolutionary psychology, we test the provocative Parasite Stress Theory of Values, which suggests a possible link between the historical prevalence of infectious diseases, the cultural dimension of individualism-collectivism and differences in income inequality across countries. Specifically, in a two-stage least squares analysis, we use the historical prevalence of infectious diseases as an instrument for individualistic values, which, in the next stage, predict the level of income inequality, measured by the net GINI coefficient from the Standardized World Income Inequality Database (SWIID). Our findings suggest that societies with more individualistic values have significantly lower net income inequality. The results are robust even after controlling for a number of confounding factors such as economic development, legal origins, religion, human capital, other cultural values, economic institutions, and geographical controls.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figure 1: Individualism and Income Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are individualistic societies less equal? Evidence from the parasite stress theory of values

Nikolaev

Boudreaux

Salahodjaev

2017

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

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“…For post-soviet transition economies, Dimitrova-Grajzl, Grajzl and Guse (2012) argue that the general public's attitude towards regulation is driven both by trust in market participants and concern about government corruption. Using European Social Survey data for 29 countries, Daniele and Geys (2015) find a more pronounced effect of social trust on welfare state support in countries where governmental institutions are perceived to be fair and uncorrupted. Pitlik and Kouba (2015) analyze the impact of social trust for public support of government intervention, arguing that a lack of confidence in companies will intensify demand for regulation.…”

Section: Hypothesis 1: Individualistic Cultural Traits Are Negativelymentioning

confidence: 99%

Individualistic values, institutional trust, and interventionist attitudes

Pitlik

Rode

2017

Journal of Institutional Economics

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Ever since Max Weber (1930) uncovered the cultural origins of capitalism, a common denominator for explanations of economic development is that "individualistic values" provide a more favourable background for promoting the wealth of nations. This paper investigates the impact of individualist values on personal attitudes towards government intervention, as a potential link of culture and formal institutions. We consider two key components of an "individualistic culture" to be particularly relevant for attitude formation, namely values related to self-direction and self-determination. Results indicate that both elements of individualistic values are associated negatively with interventionist preferences. Interestingly, effects of self-direction values on intervention attitudes are much weaker though, than the effects of a strong belief in self-determination. Moreover, the effects of self-direction on intervention preferences are mitigated through higher trust in state actors and lower confidence in major companies, while that does not appear to be the case for self-determination values. AbstractEver since Max Weber (1930) uncovered the cultural origins of capitalism, a common denominator for explanations of economic development is that 'individualistic values' provide a more favorable background for promoting the wealth of nations. This paper investigates the impact of individualist values on personal attitudes towards government intervention, as a potential link of culture and formal institutions. We consider two key components of an 'individualistic culture' to be particularly relevant for attitude formation, namely values related to self-direction and self-determination. Results indicate that both elements of individualistic values are associated negatively with interventionist preferences. Interestingly, effects of self-direction values on intervention attitudes are much weaker though, than the effects of a strong belief in self-determination. Moreover, the effects of self-direction on intervention preferences are mitigated through higher trust in state actors and lower confidence in major companies, while that does not appear to be the case for self-determination values.

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“…In a similar research, Bjørnskov and Svendsen (2013) show that trust increases state subsidies and transfer payments. Micro-studies in this field indicate that there is a positive relationship between a person's level of social trust and his/her support for the welfare state (Daniele and Geys, 2015;Gür, 2015). In another micro-level empirical study, Torgler (2014) reveals that tax discipline increases in accordance with one's trust in state institutions.…”

Section: The Welfare Statementioning

confidence: 99%

Güven, Bürokrasi Ve Refah Devleti

Gür¹

2017

İVT

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Öz: Bu makale, sosyal güvenin devletin kurumsal yapısı üzerine etkisini analiz etmektedir. Sosyal güven, bir insanın kişisel olarak tanımadığı insanlara karşı duyduğu güven duygusu olarak tanımlanabilir. Güven, işlem maliyetlerini azaltarak ve bedavacılık sorununu iyileştirerek devletin kurumsal yapısını birçok açıdan etkileyebilmektedir. Bu makale, devletin kurumsal yapısı ile ilgili üç farklı alan üzerine durmaktadır: aşırı bürokrasi, yolsuzluk ve refah devleti. Güvenin yüksek olduğu bir toplumda vatandaşlar gereksiz bürokratik prosedürlere ve yolsuzluklara daha az maruz kalırlar, vergilerini gönül rahatlığıyla öderler ve yüksek vergi gelirleri sayesinde kalkınma dostu kamu harcamalarından daha fazla faydalanırlar. Bu makale, yüksek güvenin devletin kurumsal yapısını toplumun bütününe fayda sağlayacak şekilde çalışır hale getirdiğini göstermektedir.Anahtar Kelimeler: Güven, aşırı bürokrasi, düzenleme, yolsuzluk, refah devleti.Abstract: This paper analyses the effect of social trust on the institutional structure of the state. Social trust can be defined as the level of trust that a given person has toward people whom he or she does not know personally. Trust can affect many aspects of the state's institutional structure by reducing transaction costs and ameliorating the free-rider problem. This article focuses on three dimensions related to the state's institutional structure: red tape, corruption, and the welfare state. In a society with a high level of trust, individuals are less subject to unnecessary bureaucratic procedures, pay their taxes with peace of mind, and, thanks to high tax revenues, benefit more from the development-friendly public expenditures. This article indicates that a high level of trust makes the state's institutional structure function in a way that benefits society as a whole.

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Interpersonal trust and welfare state support

Cited by 97 publications

References 45 publications

Are individualistic societies less equal? Evidence from the parasite stress theory of values

Are individualistic societies less equal? Evidence from the parasite stress theory of values

Individualistic values, institutional trust, and interventionist attitudes

Güven, Bürokrasi Ve Refah Devleti

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