Is Participation to Voluntary Association Linked with Trust? Experimental Evidence from the Youth

Abstract

This paper sheds some light on the link between participation to voluntary associations and trusting strangers. Through a traditional trust game, I examine participants' behaviour in the light of their involvement in different types of voluntary associations. This involvement is measured as weekly time spent by the player within each kind of organizations. Results show a positive link between trust and those associations, whose goals also comprise instilling values such as reciprocity and cooperation. Results are robust for different analytical methodologies, and appear to be strongly gender-driven.