Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/220077 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
WIFO Working Papers No. 594
Publisher: 
Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), Vienna
Abstract: 
Debates about the appropriate role of markets and governments are often shaped by sharply contrasting opinions. Based on individual data from the World Values Survey and the European Values Study for up to 190,000 respondents in a sample of 68 democratic countries, we find that social trust is associated with tempered attitudes regarding government intervention and redistribution. Results corroborate ideas from socio-psychological research that trusting people have personality attributes which work towards a moderation on politically divisive topics. Complementary to the existing literature on political polarisation, this opens the possibility that trusting societies may be superior at implementing controversial policy reforms because social trust reduces the probability of extreme attitude formation.
Subjects: 
social trust
polarization
policy attitudes
preference formation
JEL: 
D70
D78
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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