This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

An Experimental Approach to Comparing Trust in Pastoral and Non-Pastoral Australia

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Ryan R J McAllister
Andrew F Reeson () (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Australia)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

It is generally held that rural Australians are more cooperative in character than their urban counterparts. To explore one aspect of this notion, we conducted an experiment which compared trust and trustworthiness among a sample of Australian senior high school students which included students with both pastoral and non-pastoral backgrounds. While student behaviour is unlikely to mimic adult behaviour, any significant differences between pastoral and non-pastoral students would suggest differences do exist between the social norms that guide pastoral and non-pastoral communities. We repeated our experiment at three different schools containing students from both pastoral and non-pastoral backgrounds, allowing us to draw comparisons. In total 78 students participated. Our experiments were based on similar experiments that have been applied across a range of contexts internationally (trust game/investment game). We did not find evidence of differences between students with pastoral and non-pastoral backgrounds, either in the level of trust in others or in trustworthiness, though our methods probably have a bias towards this conclusion. Our results concurred with other studies in showing that social distance is an important determinant of the level of cooperation.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.csiro.au/files/files/pjkg.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function: First version, 2007
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by CSIRO sustainable Ecosystems in its series Socio-Economics and the Environment in Discussion (SEED) Working Paper Series with number 2007-09.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length: 25 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cse:wpaper:2007-09

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Gungahlin Homestead, GPO Box 284, Canberra City, ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6242 1600
Fax: (02) 6242 1555
Web page: http://www.csiro.au/org/cse
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (CSE-Webrequest).

Related research
Keywords: rural urban relations economic behaviour culture arid zones semiarid zones pastoral society

Find related papers by JEL classification:
R00 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - General - - - General
C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
P25 - Economic Systems - - Socialist Systems and Transition Economies - - - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? There are over 16000 authors registered on RePEc Author Service.

This page was last updated on 2008-8-17.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.