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Inequality, Perception Biases and Trust

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We present a theoretical framework that links trust, trustworthiness and inequality. It is assumed that an individual's level of interpersonal trust is related to expected trustworthiness among his reference group and that trustworthiness decreases when interpersonal income differences increase. As a consequence, inequality affects trust via the individual-specific perception of inequality which might not coincide with aggregate measures of inequality like the Gini coefficient. We work out the implications of our model for empirical estimations of the trust-inequality nexus and show that such regressions are very likely to understate the true effect of inequality. This might lead to the erroneous conclusion that inequality exerts no effect on trust. Survey data from Austria support the predictions of our framework. Individual-specific perceptions of inequality have a strong negative effect on trust while aggregate measures of inequality show no significant relation.

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  • Markus Knell & Helmut Stix, 2017. "Inequality, Perception Biases and Trust," Working Papers 211, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    • Handle: RePEc:onb:oenbwp:211
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    1. Gimpelson, V. & Chernina, E., 2020. "How we perceive our place in income distribution and how the perceptions deviate from reality," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 46(2), pages 30-56.
    2. M. D. R. Evans & Jonathan Kelley, 2018. "Strong Welfare States Do Not Intensify Public Support for Income Redistribution, but Even Reduce It among the Prosperous: A Multilevel Analysis of Public Opinion in 30 Countries," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-52, October.
    3. Knight, John & Gunatilaka, Ramani, 2022. "Income inequality and happiness: Which inequalities matter in China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Knell, Markus & Stix, Helmut, 2020. "Perceptions of inequality," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Christian Alexander Belabed & Mariya Hake, 2018. "Income inequality and trust in national governments in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe," Working Papers 222, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).

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