Abstract
The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the existing studies concerning the phenomenon of public trust in government. Low trust in government has been frequently defined as a key problem influencing the policy process in many countries. The economic crises reinforced the importance of trust and triggered public debates on the necessary reforms of the public sector. The paper examines the key theories and research conducted by social scientists with a particular emphasis on the role of trust in risk societies. The review of the existing literature concentrates on the drivers of trust, showing the importance of two interlinked logics: the logic of consequences (the performance approach) and the logic of appropriateness (the process approach). The first one explains trust as a result of outputs and outcomes of government policies and services. The logic of appropriateness claims that trust is built on values and identity and depends on the adoption by governments the rules of integrity, openness, responsiveness and transparency. Trust in government is also deeply rooted in a broader system of rules, norms andvalues known as the trust culture. The last part of the paper is an attempt to trace an impact of an economic crisis on public trust. Studies of public opinion do not fully confirm the opinions on low trust and a decline in trust in government and trust in public administration in times of crisis. Some studies reveal considerable fluctuations of public trust in selected countries. In other countries, the public evaluation of government and public administration is high and there are only slight modifications in citizens’ perception of the government.
Highlights
The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the existing studies concerning the phenomenon of public trust in government
The turbulent times of the economic crisis reinforced the importance of trust in governments
In the last five decades the phenomenon of trust has become subject to extensive research conducted by social sciences4
Summary
Celem artykułu jest dokonanie przeglądu współczesnych badań poświęconych zjawisku publicznego zaufania do władz publicznych. Trust in risk society “The financial and economic crisis that started in 2008 led to a significant loss of trust in government. In the late 1990 s the social and economic changes triggered by the processes of globalization and modernization have significantly increased the number of studies concerning trust. Trust in the public sector, especially trust in the government capable of protecting an ordinary citizen from the consequences of an economic recession or reducing the scope of risks faced by the citizens, has been placed on the agenda of national governments and international organizations. To some people the public sector can be understood in a broad sense, as a combination of the civil service (the government and local public administration), executive and legislative politicians along with the judicial system. The discussion on generalization versus differentiation has had a significant impact on the conceptions explaining the drivers of public trust
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