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Economic crimes and trust toward political institutions: evidence from online fraud victimization and related policy interventions in Italy

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  • Palmisano, Flaviana

Abstract

In the last decades, increasing attention has been devoted, both in the academic and political arena, to understand the determinants of distrust in political institutions and to identify actions that can be put into place to restore this peculiar form of social capital. Using data from a representative survey of the Italian population over the 2013–2021 period, this paper focuses on the role exerted by a specific form of economic crime – namely online fraud – to weaken political trust. The findings indicate a strong and statistically significant negative association between victimization by online fraud and trust in various political institutions. This relationship remains robust across multiple checks, including Oster (2019) sensitivity test for unobserved confounding factors. The analysis further suggests that policy interventions aimed at reducing the risk of online fraud may also serve, instrumentally, to rebuild confidence in political institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Palmisano, Flaviana, 2025. "Economic crimes and trust toward political institutions: evidence from online fraud victimization and related policy interventions in Italy," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:111:y:2025:i:c:s0167487025000698
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2025.102857
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • D18 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Protection
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • G53 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Financial Literacy

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