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A sticky trait: Social trust among Swedish expatriates in countries with varying institutional quality

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  • Bergh, Andreas
  • Öhrvall, Richard

Abstract

Social trust is linked to many desirable economic and social outcomes. Using new data from a representative sample of 2668 Swedish expatriates, we examine the robustness of high social trust in countries with different levels of institutional quality. The results suggest that individual trust decreases with length of stay in countries with high corruption and low rule of law. The effect is relatively small and driven by expatriates who were aged 30 years or below upon arrival to the new country. While other studies have found that trust among migrants adapts to destination country trust levels, we find that after the (approximate) age of 30, high trust is a sticky personality trait. The results are robust to controlling for a large array of individual characteristics (including age) and support the view that social trust is sensitive to events that occur early in life.

Suggested Citation

  • Bergh, Andreas & Öhrvall, Richard, 2018. "A sticky trait: Social trust among Swedish expatriates in countries with varying institutional quality," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1146-1157.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:46:y:2018:i:4:p:1146-1157
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2018.06.002
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    Cited by:

    1. Niclas Berggren & Andreas Bergh & Christian Bjørnskov & Shiori Tanaka, 2020. "Migrants and Life Satisfaction: The Role of the Country of Origin and the Country of Residence," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 436-463, August.
    2. Susanne Wallman Lundåsen, 2023. "Intergroup Contacts, Neighborhood Diversity, and Community Trust: the Asymmetrical Impact of Negative and Positive Experiences," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 163-188, March.
    3. Christan Bjørnskov & Miguel Ángel Borrella‐Mas & Martin Rode, 2022. "The economics of change and stability in social trust: Evidence from (and for) Catalan secession," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 275-297, July.
    4. Martin Rode, 2022. "The institutional foundations of surf break governance in Atlantic Europe," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 190(1), pages 175-204, January.
    5. Berggren, Niclas & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2023. "Does globalization suppress social trust?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 443-458.
    6. Nathan Nunn, 2020. "History as Evolution," NBER Working Papers 27706, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Zhang, Yixiang & Fu, Bowen, 2023. "Social trust contributes to the reduction of urban carbon dioxide emissions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    8. Chen, Zhongfei & Chen, Fanglin & Zhou, Mengling, 2021. "Does social trust affect corporate environmental performance in China?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    9. Berggren, Niclas & Ljunge, Martin & Nilsson, Therese, 2022. "Immigrants’ Tolerance and Integration into Society," Working Paper Series 1447, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    10. Hans Pitlik & Martin Rode, 2021. "Radical Distrust: Are Economic Policy Attitudes Tempered by Social Trust?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 485-506, December.
    11. Bergh, Andreas & Bjørnskov, Christian & Öhrvall, Richard, 2023. "Nonresponse Bias in Trust Surveys," Working Paper Series 1455, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    12. Sarracino, Francesco & Slater, Giulia, 2024. "The trust paradox," MPRA Paper 120053, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social trust; Institutions; Corruption; Rule of law; Migration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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