Trust and corruption

Jong Sung You*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    38 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Trust and trustworthiness reinforce each other, while perceptions of fairness are closely linked to trust. Corruption in the form of untrustworthy behavior, a betrayal of entrusted power, and a breach of interactional or formal justice negatively affects people’s perceptions of fairness and generalized trust. Corruption can be understood as a collective action problem, and social trust can help solve such collective action problems. Empirical studies have found considerable evidence for the reciprocal causal relationship between social trust and corruption. On the one hand, there seems to be a vicious circle of low trust, high corruption, and high inequality, thus creating an inequality trap. On the other hand, there is a virtuous circle of high trust, low corruption, and low inequality, resulting in multiple equilibria. This relationship appears to be very strong in democracies, but not in authoritarian countries.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust
    PublisherOxford University Press
    Pages473-496
    Number of pages24
    ISBN (Electronic)9780190274801
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017

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