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Terrorism and the Economics of Trust

Author

Listed:
  • S Brock Blomberg

    (Claremont McKenna College)

  • Gregory D Hess

    (Claremont McKenna College)

  • Daniel YJ Tan

    (Pomona College)

Abstract

Previous research has shown that trust is an important component that encourages investment and capital formation which, in turn, enhances economic performance. This article investigates the effect of terrorism on income, including its indirect role through lowering trust. We consider terrorism as a factor that can increase the cost of investing in technology and capital formation due to its ability to diminish trust in an economy. We then develop a novel and rich dataset spanning 179 countries from 1968 to 2007 using associated community, social, cultural, political, and economic factors from the World Values Survey and international terrorism incidence data from ITERATE. Using empirical tests, we first show that terrorism has a negative and statistically significant impact on individual income. This impact is larger than what has previously been found, possibly due to aggregation effects and data selection. We then estimate the societal impact of terrorism on economic growth by examining the extent to which terrorism taxes trust and how this, in turn, hinders economic performance. Consequently, we develop a measure of the economic consequences of terrorism through sizing the magnitude of the ‘trust tax’ from terrorism. We find that the trust tax is relatively minor compared to the direct impact of terrorism on income.

Suggested Citation

  • S Brock Blomberg & Gregory D Hess & Daniel YJ Tan, 2011. "Terrorism and the Economics of Trust," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 48(3), pages 383-398, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:joupea:v:48:y:2011:i:3:p:383-398
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Gao, Jianbo & Fang, Peng & Liu, Feiyan, 2017. "Empirical scaling law connecting persistence and severity of global terrorism," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 482(C), pages 74-86.
    2. Paschalis Arvanitidis & Athina Economou & Christos Kollias, 2016. "Terrorism’s effects on social capital in European countries," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 231-250, December.
    3. Elisa Borghi & Michela Braga & Francesco Scervini, 2020. "Fear of the dark: How terrorist events affect trust in the long run," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 20149, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    4. Andrew W. Bausch & Joao R. Faria & Thomas Zeitzoff, 2013. "Warnings, terrorist threats and resilience: A laboratory experiment," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 30(5), pages 433-451, November.
    5. Emilio Colombo & Valentina Rotondi & Luca Stanca, 2022. "The Day After the Bomb: Well-Being Effects of Terrorist Attacks in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 115-132, February.
    6. Hashmat Ali & Zulfiqar Ali Menon & Ajab Khan & Muhammad Muddassar Khan & Imad Ali & Khan Baz & Muhammad Arif & Manzoor Hussain & Waqar Jalal, 2020. "Terrorist Activities, Investor Sentiment, and Stock Returns: Evidence from Pakistan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(3), pages 139-148.
    7. Gan Jin & Md Rafiul Karim & Günther G. Schulze, 2024. "The Stock Market Effects of Islamist versus Non-Islamist Terror," Discussion Paper Series 45 JEL Classification: D7, Department of International Economic Policy, University of Freiburg, revised Feb 2024.
    8. Benny Geys & Øystein Hernæs, 2021. "Party leaders and voter responses to political terrorism," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 187(3), pages 481-499, June.
    9. Amar Iqbal Anwar & Mazhar Mughal, 2013. "Foreign Financial Flows and Terrorism In Developing Countries," Working Papers hal-01885149, HAL.
    10. Amar Iqbal Anwar & Mazhar Mughal, 2013. "Foreign Financial Flows and Terrorism In Developing Countries," Working Papers hal-01885149, HAL.

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