Institutional Quality and Generalized Trust: A Nonrecursive Causal Model

This paper investigates the association between institutional quality and generalized trust. Despite the importance of the topic, little quantitative empirical evidence exists to support either unidirectional or bidirectional causality for the reason that cross-sectional studies rarely model the rec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social indicators research 2012-06, Vol.107 (2), p.235-258
Main Author: Robbins, Blaine G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Banking
Case Studies
Causal Models
Causality
Citizen Participation
Citizens
Civics
Correlation
Corruption
Cross-sectional analysis
Educational Quality
Fairness
Generalization
Government (Administrative Body)
Government bureaucracy
Human Geography
Information technology
Institutional quality
Institutions
International Organizations
Literature Reviews
Microeconomics
Modeling
Modelling
Monarchy
Political institutions
Political sociology
Political systems
Political systems, parties and institutions
Politics
Power-sharing
Public Health
Quality of Life Research
Reciprocity
Regions
Social capital
Social Indicators
Social research
Social Sciences
Sociology
Structural equation modeling
Structural Equation Models
Studies
Surveys
Trust
Trust (Psychology)
Values
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Description
Summary:This paper investigates the association between institutional quality and generalized trust. Despite the importance of the topic, little quantitative empirical evidence exists to support either unidirectional or bidirectional causality for the reason that cross-sectional studies rarely model the reciprocal relationship between institutional quality and generalized trust. Using data from the World Values Survey, World Bank, and other data sources in an identified nonrecursive structural equation model, results show that generalized trust and institutional quality form a positive reciprocal relationship, where the connection is stronger from generalized trust to institutional quality. The conclusion discusses implications for theory and policy in this area.
ISSN:0303-8300
1573-0921
DOI:10.1007/s11205-011-9838-1