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Explaining EU citizens’ trust in the ECB in normal and crisis times

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  • Ehrmann, Michael
  • Stracca, Livio
  • Soudan, Michel

Abstract

We study the determinants of trust in the ECB as measured by the European Commission's Eurobarometer survey. The formulation of the corresponding question in this survey is very general, and compatible with very different notions of "trust" by respondents. In particular, the survey does not ask whether respondents trust that the ECB delivers on its mandate. Still, the ECB started with a relatively high level of trust right from the outset, especially in comparison with national institutions (other than central banks). However, with the onset of the global financial crisis, trust started to fall. It also continued to fall after 2010, a period not covered by our analysis. We find that the fall in trust until spring 2010 can be rather well explained based on the pre-crisis determinants, and show that it reflected the macroeconomic deterioration, a more generalised fall in the trust in European institutions in the wake of the crisis as well as the severity of the banking sector's problems, with which the ECB was associated in the public opinion. Finally, we show that a higher degree of knowledge about the ECB generates more trust in normal times and even more so during the financial crisis. JEL Classification: E58, G21, Z13

Suggested Citation

  • Ehrmann, Michael & Stracca, Livio & Soudan, Michel, 2012. "Explaining EU citizens’ trust in the ECB in normal and crisis times," Working Paper Series 1501, European Central Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20121501
    Note: 203739
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Petra Cisková & Emília Zimková & Colin Lawson, 2021. "Visegrad trust in the European Central Bank: common and country specific determinants 2005–2018," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 52(6), pages 495-516.
    2. Maciej Albinowski & Piotr Ciżkowicz & Andrzej Rzońca, 2014. "Links between trust in the ECB and its interest rate policy," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(25), pages 3090-3106, September.
    3. In Do Hwang, 2018. "Central Bank Reputation and Inflation-Unemployment Performance: Empirical Evidence from an Executive Survey of 62 Countries," Working Papers 2018-14, Economic Research Institute, Bank of Korea.
    4. Luigi Paciello & Claudio Michelacci, 2016. "Forward Misguidance," 2016 Meeting Papers 617, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. Thomas Otter, 2013. "Crisis and Trust in National and European Union Institutions — Panel Evidence for the EU, 1999 to 2012," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 31, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    6. Elisabeth Beckmann & Sandra Dvorsky & Thomas Scheiber, 2013. "Trust in the EU in CESEE," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 2, pages 77-90.
    7. Maarten van Rooij & Jakob de Haan, 2016. "Will helicopter money be spent? New evidence," DNB Working Papers 538, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Eurobarometer; European Central Bank; global financial crisis; public opinion; trust;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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