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Trust and Prosocial Behavior in a Process of State Capacity Building: The Case of the Palestinian Territories

Author

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  • Luca Andriani

    (Birkbeck College University of London)

  • Fabio Sabatini

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature by conducting the first empirical investigation into the determinants of prosocial behavior in the Palestinian territories, with a focus on the role of trust and institutions. Drawing on a unique dataset collected through the administration of a questionnaire to a representative sample of the population of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, we have found that institutional trust is the strongest predictor of prosociality. This result suggests that, in collectivist societies with low levels of generalized trust, the lack of citizens’ confidence in the fairness and efficiency of public institutions may compromise social order. The strengthening of institutional trust may also reinforce prosocial behavior in individualist societies, where a decline in generalized trust has been documented by empirical studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Andriani & Fabio Sabatini, 2014. "Trust and Prosocial Behavior in a Process of State Capacity Building: The Case of the Palestinian Territories," Working Papers 841, Economic Research Forum, revised Oct 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:841
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    Cited by:

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    2. Fabio Sabatini & Francesco Sarracino, 2013. "Will Facebook save or destroy social capital? An empirical investigation into the effect of online interactions on trust and networks," Department of Economics University of Siena 692, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    3. Habibov, Nazim & Cheung, Alex, 2016. "The impact of unofficial out-of-pocket payments on satisfaction with education in Post-Soviet countries," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 70-79.
    4. Filippetti, Andrea & Vezzani, Antonio, 2022. "The political economy of public research, or why some governments commit to research more than others," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Daria Denti & Alessandra Faggian, 2021. "Where do angry birds tweet? Income inequality and online hate in Italy," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 14(3), pages 483-506.
    6. Fabio Sabatini & Francesco Sarracino, 2019. "Online Social Networks and Trust," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 229-260, February.
    7. Giacomo Degli Antoni & Fabio Sabatini, 2017. "Social cooperatives, social welfare associations and social networks," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 75(2), pages 212-230, April.
    8. Dimitrios Zikos, 2020. "Revisiting the Role of Institutions in Transformative Contexts: Institutional Change and Conflicts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    9. Luca Andriani & Gaygysyz Ashyrov, 2022. "Corruption and life satisfaction: Evidence from a transition survey," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 511-535, November.
    10. Piyapong Janmaimool & Chaweewan Denpaiboon, 2016. "Rural Villagers’ Quality of Life Improvement by Economic Self-Reliance Practices and Trust in the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy," Societies, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-20, August.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • H79 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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