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Trust as the missing root of institutions, education, and development

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  • Christian Bjørnskov
  • Pierre-Guillaume Méon

Abstract

In the paper, we argue that trust is the missing link relating education, institutions, and economic development. We argue that increased trust both increases education and improves legal and bureaucratic institutions, which in turn spurs economic development. We substantiate this intuition with a series of regressions that show that trust determines both education and the quality of institutions, and that education and institutions in turn affect GDP per capita.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Bjørnskov & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2012. "Trust as the missing root of institutions, education, and development," Working Papers CEB 12-031, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/130489
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Trust and Institutions
      by UDADISI in UDADISI on 2012-11-21 18:44:00
    2. Tillid og rigdom
      by bjoernskov in Punditokraterne on 2013-02-27 19:28:52

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Development; Social trust; Institutions; Education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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