What Drives Citizens’ Trust in State Institutions ? Large-Scale Survey Evidence on Process and Outcome-Based Trust in Morocco

What drives citizen’s trust in state institutions There are longstanding debates on the pathways towards institutional trust: is trust driven by citizen’s perceptions of policy outcomes or by their perceptions of the integrity and credibility of policy processes This paper investigates this question using data from a large-scale survey of 5,916 Moroccans and argues that process matters more than outcomes for trust-building. The paper first shows that Moroccans’ trust in institutions is strongly associated with positive evaluations of policy outcomes—including satisfaction with the delivery of public goods and services and with government’s economic performance. It then provides evidence that institutional trust is even more strongly and robustly associated with the quality of governance processes, and in particular with the perception that institutions function with integrity and make credible commitments. Going beyond policy variables, the paper also provides complementary evidence that institutional trust is contingent on individual-level social capital, including social trust, and socio-demographic factors. The conclusion briefly lays out the policy implications of this research and areas for future investigation.