IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/idb/brikps/9496.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Transparency and Trust in Government: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro, Martín
  • Cardinale Lagomarsino, Bruno
  • Scartascini, Carlos
  • Torrealday, Jerónimo

Abstract

Does providing information improve citizens’ perception about government transparency? Does all information matter the same for shaping perceptions about the government? This paper addresses these questions in the context of an online randomized survey experiment conducted in Argentina. Results show that providing information to citizens matters for shaping perceptions about transparency, and the content of the information matters for affecting the evaluation people make about the government. Those who received a “positive” treatment (showing that the government was over-performing on its promises) increased their trust in the government more than those who received a “negative” treatment (showing that the government was underperforming). The evidence highlights that the channel between transparency and trust may be mediated by the performance of the government.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro, Martín & Cardinale Lagomarsino, Bruno & Scartascini, Carlos & Torrealday, Jerónimo, 2019. "Transparency and Trust in Government: Evidence from a Survey Experiment," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 9496, Inter-American Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:9496
    DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001569
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Transparency_and_Trust_in_Government_Evidence_from_a_Survey_Experiment_en_en.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001569?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brennan,Geoffrey & Lomasky,Loren (ed.), 1997. "Democracy and Decision," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521585248.
    2. Oguzhan Dincer & Eric Uslaner, 2010. "Trust and growth," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 59-67, January.
    3. Christian Bjørnskov & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2015. "The productivity of trust," Post-Print CEB, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, June.
    4. Yann Algan & Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou & Evgenia Passari, 2017. "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," Post-Print hal-02381560, HAL.
    5. Nicholas Bloom & Raffaella Sadun, 2012. "The Organization of Firms Across Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(4), pages 1663-1705.
    6. Zak, Paul J & Knack, Stephen, 2001. "Trust and Growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(470), pages 295-321, April.
    7. Yann Algan & Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou & Evgenia Passari, 2017. "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(2 (Fall)), pages 309-400.
    8. Laura Bottazzi & Marco Da Rin & Thomas Hellmann, 2016. "Editor's Choice The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(9), pages 2283-2318.
    9. Kolstad, Ivar & Wiig, Arne, 2009. "Is Transparency the Key to Reducing Corruption in Resource-Rich Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 521-532, March.
    10. Nobuhiro Kiyotaki & John Moore, 2001. "Evil is the Root of all Money (Clarendon Lectures 1)," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 110, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
    11. Nobuhiro Kiyotaki & John Moore, 2002. "Evil Is the Root of All Money," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 62-66, May.
    12. Sangnier, Marc, 2013. "Does trust favor macroeconomic stability?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 653-668.
    13. La Porta, Rafael, et al, 1997. "Trust in Large Organizations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 333-338, May.
    14. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "Trusting the Stock Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 2557-2600, December.
    15. Cai, Meina & Liu, Pengfei & Wang, Hui, 2020. "Political trust, risk preferences, and policy support: A study of land-dispossessed villagers in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    16. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-1288.
    17. Keefer, Philip & Khemani, Stuti, 2012. "Do informed citizens receive more...or pay more ? the impact of radio on the government distribution of public health benefits," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5952, The World Bank.
    18. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/2i9jel1usb85nr2j7tejsaldfu is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Corbacho, Ana & Philipp, Julia & Ruiz-Vega, Mauricio, 2015. "Crime and Erosion of Trust: Evidence for Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 400-415.
    20. César Martinelli, 2007. "Rational ignorance and voting behavior," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 35(3), pages 315-335, February.
    21. Keefer, Philip & Scartascini, Carlos & Vlaicu, Razvan, 2020. "Voter Preferences, Electoral Promises, and the Composition of Public Spending," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 10450, Inter-American Development Bank.
    22. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2009. "Cultural Biases in Economic Exchange?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(3), pages 1095-1131.
    23. Stein, Ernesto H. & Streb, Jorge M., 2004. "Elections and the timing of devaluations," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 119-145, May.
    24. Algan, Yann & Cahuc, Pierre, 2014. "Trust, Growth, and Well-Being: New Evidence and Policy Implications," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 2, pages 49-120, Elsevier.
    25. Claudio Ferraz & Frederico Finan, 2008. "Exposing Corrupt Politicians: The Effects of Brazil's Publicly Released Audits on Electoral Outcomes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(2), pages 703-745.
    26. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2013. "Trust and Growth," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 521-549, May.
    27. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2014. "Trust, Well-Being and Growth: New Evidence and Policy Implications," Post-Print hal-01169659, HAL.
    28. L. Bottazzi & M. Da Rin & T. Hellmann, 2007. "The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Working Papers 612, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    29. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1divsbu8t888r9vqektjbmlqoa is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Luisa Blanco & Isabel Ruiz, 2013. "The Impact of Crime and Insecurity on Trust in Democracy and Institutions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 284-288, May.
    31. Fernanda Leite Lopez de Leon & Renata Rizzi, 2014. "A Test for the Rational Ignorance Hypothesis: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Brazil," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 380-398, November.
    32. Roger Congleton, 2001. "Rational Ignorance, Rational Voter Expectations, and Public Policy: A Discrete Informational Foundation for Fiscal Illusion," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 107(1), pages 35-64, April.
    33. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/33o86cn6qp83dot08iir97915s is not listed on IDEAS
    34. Anthony Downs, 1957. "An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65, pages 135-135.
    35. Jeffrey R Kling & Jeffrey B Liebman & Lawrence F Katz, 2007. "Experimental Analysis of Neighborhood Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(1), pages 83-119, January.
    36. Evans, David K. & Holtemeyer, Brian & Kosec, Katrina, 2019. "Cash transfers increase trust in local government," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 138-155.
    37. Crawford, Vincent P & Sobel, Joel, 1982. "Strategic Information Transmission," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(6), pages 1431-1451, November.
    38. Cesi Cruz & Philip Keefer & Julien Labonne, 2016. "Incumbent Advantage, Voter Information and Vote Buying," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 94877, Inter-American Development Bank.
    39. Cruz, Cesi & Keefer, Philip & Labonne, Julien, 2016. "Incumbent Advantage, Voter Information and Vote Buying," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 7730, Inter-American Development Bank.
    40. Dearmon, Jacob & Grier, Kevin, 2009. "Trust and development," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 210-220, August.
    41. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Henri L.F. de Groot & Anton B.T.M. van Schaik, 2004. "Trust and economic growth: a robustness analysis," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 118-134, January.
    42. Rhys Andrews & Steven Van de Walle, 2013. "New Public Management and Citizens' Perceptions of Local Service Efficiency, Responsiveness, Equity and Effectiveness," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(5), pages 762-783, June.
    43. Jacobsen, Dag Ingvar, 1999. "Trust in Political-Administrative Relations: The Case of Local Authorities in Norway and Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 839-853, May.
    44. Westfall, Peter H. & Tobias, Randall D., 2007. "Multiple Testing of General Contrasts: Truncated Closure and the Extended ShafferRoyen Method," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 102, pages 487-494, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cristina Bicchieri & Enrique Fatas & Abraham Aldama & Andrés Casas & Ishwari Deshpande & Mariagiulia Lauro & Cristina Parilli & Max Spohn & Paula Pereira & Ruiling Wen, 2021. "In science we (should) trust: Expectations and compliance across nine countries during the COVID-19 pandemic," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Eduardo de Sá Fortes Leitão Rodrigues, 2021. "Citizens' Confidence in Government and Inefficient Public Spending. Is there a Trust Trap?," Working Papers REM 2021/0199, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    3. Ardanaz, Martin & Otálvaro-Ramírez, Susana & Scartascini, Carlos, 2023. "Does information about citizen participation initiatives increase political trust?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    4. Natalia Dmitrieva & Evgeny Styrin & Nikolay Lavrentyev & Ruslan Artamonov, 2021. "Linking Distrust Of The Public Sector To Awareness Of Covid-19: The Covid Dissidence Phenomenon," Public administration issues, Higher School of Economics, issue 6, pages 24-48.
    5. Ardanaz, Martín & Otálvaro-Ramírez, Susana & Scartascini, Carlos, 2022. "Does Citizen Participation in Budget Allocation Pay? A Survey Experiment on Political Trust and Participatory Governance," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12256, Inter-American Development Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Knetsch, Andreas & Salzmann, Astrid, 2022. "Societal trust and corporate underinvestment," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    2. Ali Recayi Ogcem & Ruth Tacneng & Amine Tarazi, 2021. "Trust and Financial Development: Forms of Trust and Ethnic Fractionalization Matter," Working Papers hal-03322592, HAL.
    3. Amore, Mario Daniele & Epure, Mircea, 2021. "Riding out of a financial crisis: The joint effect of trust and corporate ownership," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 92-109.
    4. Jalan, Akanksha & Matkovskyy, Roman & Urquhart, Andrew & Yarovaya, Larisa, 2023. "The role of interpersonal trust in cryptocurrency adoption," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Rania S. Miniesy & Mariam AbdelKarim, 2021. "Generalized Trust and Economic Growth: The Nexus in MENA Countries," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Badaoui, Eliane, 2023. "Which dimensions of religiosity matter for trust? New insights from the MENA region," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. Horváth, Roman, 2013. "Does trust promote growth?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 777-788.
    8. Fonseka, Mohan & Samarakoon, Lalith P. & Tian, Gao-Liang & Seng, Ratney, 2021. "The impact of social trust and state ownership on investment efficiency of Chinese firms," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Panagiota Makrychoriti & Fotios Pasiouras & Menelaos Tasiou, 2022. "Financial stress and economic growth: The moderating role of trust," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(1), pages 48-74, February.
    10. Peng Huang & Yue Lu & Robert Faff, 2021. "Social trust and the speed of corporate leverage adjustment: evidence from around the globe," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(2), pages 3261-3303, June.
    11. Massa, Massimo & li, zhe & xu, niahang & Zhang, Hong, 2016. "The Impact of Sin Culture: Evidence from Earning Management and Alcohol Consumption in China," CEPR Discussion Papers 11475, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Xin, Guangyi, 2017. "Trust and Economic Performance: A Panel Study," MPRA Paper 80815, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Li, Xiaorong & Wang, Steven Shuye & Wang, Xue, 2019. "Trust and IPO underpricing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 224-248.
    14. Su, Kun & Wu, Ji & Lu, Yue, 2022. "With trust we innovate: Evidence from corporate R&D expenditure," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    15. Bonvecchi, Alejandro & Calvo, Ernesto & Otálvaro-Ramírez, Susana & Scartascini, Carlos, 2022. "The Effect of a Crisis on Trust and Willingness to Reform: Evidence from Survey Panels in Argentina and Uruguay," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12359, Inter-American Development Bank.
    16. Alan, Sule & Kubilay, Elif, 2023. "Impersonal trust in a Just and Unjust world: Evidence from an educational intervention," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    17. Ren, Meixu & Zhao, Jinxuan & Zhao, Jingmei, 2023. "Why is it difficult for Chinese companies to operate across regions in China?—Evidence from zombie companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    18. Qin, Wei & Liang, Quanxi & Jiao, Yan & Lu, Meiting & Shan, Yaowen, 2022. "Social trust and dividend payouts: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    19. L. Bottazzi & M. Da Rin & T. Hellmann, 2007. "The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Working Papers 612, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    20. Forte, Anabel & Peiró-Palomino, Jesús & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2015. "Does social capital matter for European regional growth?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 47-64.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Survey experiments; Information; Beliefs: Trust;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • C38 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Classification Methdos; Cluster Analysis; Principal Components; Factor Analysis
    • C99 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Other
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:9496. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Felipe Herrera Library (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iadbbus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.