Citizen Trust Research Articles

Mutual efforts for mutual trust: Impacts of citizens' knowledge and governmental communication channels on trust in participatory budgeting

Since participatory budgeting (PB) has been advocated by both theorists and practitioners of public administration, its adoption has become a global phenomenon. As of 2017, all local governments in South Korea are legally mandated to operate a PB system as a policy for inviting citizen participation in local budget decision‐making. Using an impact assessment tool completed by PB managers in local governments, this research tested two sets of independent variables—citizens' participatory capacity and the diversification of communication in the PB process—that could be associated with the dependent variables “citizens' trust in government (CTG)” and “government officials' trust in citizens (GTC).” The paper presents the three major findings on the common drivers behind CTG and GTC: (1) citizen participants' knowledge on budget and budgeting process; (2) local government's efforts in gathering citizens' inputs for PB; and (3) the mutual efforts to understand the needs and limitations of both citizens and the local government. The paper concludes by exploring the implications for the design and delivery of effective PB implementation.

УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ ФОНДОВИЙ РИНОК: РЕАЛІЇ СЬОГОДЕННЯ

Important on the modern stage of development the economy of Ukraine of creation of favorable terms and new possibilities of fund market functioning for the sake of providing of national economy transformation, withstand development of international relations and integration of Ukraine in world space. Exactly success of fund market development leads to the necessity of realization of concrete measures in relation to the increase of liquidity, capitalization, transparency and strengthening of control for activity of fund market from the side of the state, forming of purposeful state strategy of fund market, upgrading the grant of services and service of customers, popularity and trust of citizens to the development of fund market and all like that. A research aim is an analysis of fund market development and prognostication of measures for an improvement and activation of its activity in the direction of professional preparation of specialists for work at the fund market. The methodological basis of research became methods of dialectics, methods and principles of scientific cognition, instruments of economic analysis with aim to forming of certain methodologies of analysis and evaluation of activity of fund market, that allow to accept correct administrative decisions in a post-war period of proceeding in the country economy. The basic hypothesis of research is supposition, that take in attention the instruments of fund market development improved and existent in foreign practice, will allow to improve and extend the sphere of activity of fund market, and start of the new educational programs of preparation the specialists for a fund market and it will promote professionalism of participants and culture of investing in a population. Exposition of basic material of research. It is well-proven that is existing a row of problems that restrain development and effective functioning of the Ukrainian fund market, in particular unstable economic situation in a country, insufficient transparency of market and low level internals of services that is given by certain exchange stocks, insufficient legislative adjusting and others like that. Therefore potential of fund market practically is not used. Reasonable necessity to carry out certain measures in relation to the normal functioning of fund market like activation of functioning of story level of the pension system, bank to the sector, increase of financial education of population and general culture of participants in relation to the self-weighted bringing in investments to the market, bringing of international partners, forming of the new legal mechanisms orientated on European and world effective in general lines norms and rules of fund market functioning. Originality and practical meaningfulness of research are confirmed by the offered directions of improvement of fund market activity and ground of the necessary educational programs of preparation the specialists for it. Conclusions and prospects of further researches. The conducted research allowed to establish, that to basic directions of modernization and fund market development it is possible to take the increase of efficiency of adjusting the activity of issuers of fund market, introduction of new tool at the fund market; stimulation of coming of investments is to the fund market; providing of the reliable and effective functioning of fund market infrastructure; realization of effective public policy of improvement of investment climate. Further researches will be sent to original educational program development in relation to expansion of limits of specialty «Finances, banking and insurance» to the level «Finances, banking, insurance and fund market».

LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

Local self-government is the foundation of national statehood. It is at the local level that many socio-economic tasks can be successfully solved and real conditions created to ensure sustainable growth and well-being of the population. Being a social state, the Republic of Kazakhstan has an original experience in the formation and development of a municipal government system built on the significant influence of the people's representation. The analysis of the peculiarities of its formation, the results of which are reflected in the text of the article, contains new scientific knowledge that has the prospect of practical approbation in improving legislation on the basics of local self-government. Comparing the doctrinal positions expressed in the Kazakh and foreign legal press, it was possible to identify the presence of common problems in the organization and activities of local self-government bodies in various states. The purpose of the study was to form a set of scientifically based recommendations characterizing the directions of development of legal support for the functioning of local self-government. Using the results obtained experimentally, having studied the state of judicial practice reflecting the quality of local self–government in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as a set of traditional general scientific and private scientific methods, the authors came to the conclusion that it is possible – in the conditions of convergence of national legal systems - to create a general concept of the organization of local self-government that has the trust of citizens and is based on a democratic elective form of recruitment. In a state governed by the rule of law, all the essential features of which are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and implemented in the activities of state authorities, it is this model of local self-government that acquires maximum efficiency.

Liberalization in the Context of Democratization: Assessment of the January 2012 Fuel Subsidy Removal Protests in Nigeria

The decision by the Good Luck Jonathan-led regime to effect the removal of fuel subsidies on January 1st, 2012, prompted the most coordinated popular protests in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. The subsidy removal and social protests it triggered had numerous socio-political implications. This paper examines the implications of the social protest on civic activism and political participation. The study adopts the qualitative research method. Data was derived from a combination of primary and secondary sources, which include news articles, opinion pieces, commentaries, editorials and press interviews published by Nigerian newspapers and sourced from their archives. It also utilized information sourced from official documents and reports published by governmental and non-governmental bodies. These materials were analyzed using the content analysis method. The study finds that it is essential for the State to engender citizen trust, given that trust is a core requirement for securing the legitimacy of the governed. The study also finds that the protests helped to rekindle the spirit of civic activism among Nigerians, especially the youth segment. This activism was largely aided by the deployment of digital tools as instruments for mobilization, coordination and communication in the protest movement. The article concludes that the subsidy removal protests had profound impacts on civic political activism, long thought to be dead among Nigerians.

The Citizen Trust and Engagement in Indonesia Government’s Social Media and Website

Social media and government websites can be communication tools to encourage participation and interaction between citizens and government institutions. Digital media may lead to citizen trust and citizen engagement toward the government. The purpose of this study is to examine the model of attention to social media, attention to official government websites, perceptions of transparency, public trust, and civic engagement in the Indonesian context. This study used a quantitative approach by conducting a survey (N = 263). Structural Equation Modeling – Partial Least Square (SEM) is used to assess four hypotheses. This study reveals that Attention to Social Media and Attention to Government Websites moderately explain the influence on Perceived Transparency. Moreover, perceived transparency significantly and strongly influences citizen trust and Citizen Engagement is quite stronger explained by the Citizen Trust.

Regulators as Guardians of Trust? The Contingent and Modest Positive Effect of Targeted Transparency on Citizen Trust in Regulated Sectors

Abstract Targeted transparency has become an essential tool for regulation. Through information disclosure, regulatory agencies try to get regulated companies to improve their practices and comply with regulations. In the past, regulation was associated with distrust in regulated sectors. Recent research suggests that regulation, especially targeted transparency, may also increase citizen trust in regulated sectors. However, empirical evidence on whether transparency as a regulatory tool undermines or decreases trust in a sector is lacking. We contribute to this debate by investigating the effect of targeted transparency on citizen trust through a large-scale representative survey experiment (n = 5,303). We used 12 transparency frames in three regulated domains in the Netherlands (consumer rights, healthcare safety, and nuclear plant safety). Our findings suggest that, in general, targeted transparency does not undermine trust, but has a positive effect on trust in regulated sectors. However, this effect is small and contextual, depending on the regulatory domain and type of transparency frame.

Mental well-being and government support in Europe. The mediating role of trust in people and institutions

PurposeThis paper investigates the determinants of subjective well-being in Europe using the European Living, Working and COVID-19 (ELWC) Survey carried out by Eurofound (2021). Socio-demographics characteristics, employment status, measures of economic distress, inequality and work life balance are considered. Particular attention is paid to how quality of government support (QGS), that considers the dimensions of good governance such as integrity, fairness, reliability, responsiveness and influences subjective mental well-being (WHO-5) through the mediation of trust in other people and in institutions.Design/methodology/approachTo this end, the authors estimate a moderated mediation model for analysing the indirect role of QGS on WHO-5 through institutional trust and trust in people.FindingsThe results support the hypothesis that the reduction in WHO-5 in the European population during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID--19), particularly marked in the 18–34 age group, is related to the perceived inadequacy of government interventions in managing economic and social uncertainty through supportive measures. This outcome is also due to reduced trust in institutions and other people, as both are significant mediators that reinforce the impact of public support on WHO-5.Practical implicationsGovernment should pay greater attention to this relationship amongst good governance, trust and mental health of citizens because a healthy human capital is a significant factor for the long-run economic growth, in a special way when the authors refer to the young workforce with a greater life expectancy.Originality/valueIn the literature, the role of trust as a mediator has been analysed in the relationship between individual economic situations and subjective well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no studies have examined the role of perceived QGS on subjective mental well-being using the mediating and backing effects of trust in people and institutions.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0549.

Is everything under control? An experimental study on how control over data influences trust in and support for major governmental data exchange projects

The steep rise in the exchange of (citizen) data through government-wide platforms has triggered a demand for better privacy safeguards. One approach to privacy is to give citizens control over the exchange of personal data, hoping to reinforce trust in and support for data-driven governance. However, it remains unclear whether more control fulfils its promise of more support and higher trust. Using an online survey experiment, we study how 1) textual information on control and 2) direct control (simulated through an exercise in which respondents choose data types that can be shared) affect citizen trust, support and policy concerns. Results suggest that a combination of information on and direct control result in relatively high levels of trust, support and policy concern. Moreover, we observe an interaction effect in which those respondents with low pre-existing trust in government report more positive attitudes when assigned to the full intervention (information on control + direct control) group. Our results imply that perceived control may be especially useful to mitigate negative attitudes of those who have low trust in government.

Non-Financial Reporting Through Social Media: Evidence from Spanish Local Governments

In recent years, different non-financial information models have arisen trying to complete the traditional financial reports prepared by companies and public administrations. The fundamental objective of these models has been to satisfy the interest of the stakeholders, which goes beyond the numbers included in the balance sheet and the income statement. In the case of the public sector, this is coupled with the discontent and distrust of citizens towards politicians and administrators of institutions, which makes it necessary to emphasize tools and strategies that can improve the transparency and accountability of administrations and restore citizen trust. This requires that economic, but also social and environmental information be provided and that it be comprehensible and clear to users. On the other hand, the fast growth of Web 2.0 and social media technology is facilitating the improvement of communication between local government and their citizens. Several authors have indicated the relevance of social media as a key tool to encourage citizen engagement by facilitating for communication, discussion, and coordination of public and social activities. This study is a first step toward understanding the use of social media tools by Spanish local governments for transparency purposes. In this vein, based on content analysis, this paper aims to investigate the extent of non-financial reporting through social media in Spanish municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Although there are many social media platforms with different functionalities, participation/engagement is a common characteristic of all of them, such as openness, conversation, connectivity, and community. Specifically, this study is focused on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. We have chosen these social networks because they are the ones generally implemented in Spanish municipalities: Facebook and Twitter are present in 95.9% of the municipalities and YouTube in 82.8%. This paper contributes to the debate on local government transparency and provides guidelines for developing appropriate social media strategies and policies.

Financial transparency, trust and willingness to pay in local governments of sub-Saharan Africa

PurposeThe study investigates the influence of financial transparency on citizens' trust and revenue paying behaviour of citizens of local governments in sub-Saharan Africa. It relies on the theories of stewardship and public choice in explaining the relationship between financial transparency, trust and willingness to pay.Design/methodology/approachThe study applied a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to survey data of 404 respondents selected from four Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies of Ghana to test the hypotheses of the study.FindingsIt establishes the fact that financial transparency positively influences trust of citizens in local government and their willingness to pay taxes and levies. The study also found that both financial transparency and trust are low in the local governments of Ghana.Practical implicationsThe study emphasises the importance of financial transparency in improving trust and willingness to pay. Thus, local governments are encouraged to seek innovative ways to enhance the quality and access to financial information by the citizens.Originality/valueWhile prior studies focus on the measurement and determinant of financial transparency, this study links financial transparency to revenue mobilisation in the local government of sub-Saharan Africa.

Phygitally Smarter? A Critically Pragmatic Agenda for Smarter Engagement in British Planning and Beyond

In Britain as elsewhere, planning systems are entering a “digital turn.” However, the emerging conversations around PlanTech in policy, industry, and research yield contrasting views about the promises of digital technology and “data-driven” decisions to enhance and embed public participation in the planning system. With faster, data-driven processes capable of engaging more people in more diverse ways, PlanTech offers to revolutionise planning systems. However, empirical evidence demonstrates low citizen trust in government and web-based technologies, democratic and participatory deficits, the complexity of the planning system and its opaque technocratic terminology, multi-layered digital divides, and other socio-technical factors that hinder effective and inclusive public consultations in planning. This article provides a preliminary, high-level research agenda for public consultations across Britain’s three nations that centres around a critical pragmatic design, deployment, and evaluation of blended/“phygital” (simultaneously physical and digital) information-rich ecologies of smart engagement. A review of selected national policy in Britain provides initial insight into the emphasis (or lack of) put on the adoption of digital tools within the planning process of each British nation. In doing so, the research sets out a conceptual model that complements existing models for participatory planning by adopting Beyon-Davies’ unified conception of information, systems, and technology. The conceptual model presented sets out seven Is of information-rich phygital ecologies and three interdependent “pillars” for smart engagement that enable one to gaze both deeply and broadly into opportunities for smart engagement through and beyond PlanTech.

How citizen coproducers cope with public value creation conflicts: a survey experiment

PurposeIn coproduction, citizens may be confronted with a conflict between creating user value and a more collective understanding of public value creation. In order to deal with conflicts experienced as trade-off situations, coproducers follow various coping strategies leading to different results. This study aims to gain insight into what drives the choices for coping strategies, which are valuable for understanding the role of citizen coproducers in public value creation.Design/methodology/approachThis article studies the effects of citizens' external efficacy and trust in public servants on citizen coproducers' preferences for coping strategies. The study presents a vignette experiment among n = 257 citizens involved in the temporary use of vacant spaces in Flanders, Belgium.FindingsNo statistically significant effects of external efficacy and trust in public servants on respondents' preferences for coping strategies are found. The results show that irrespective of the level of external efficacy or trust in public servants, citizen coproducers prefer to ask for help from the public servant involved in the project.Originality/valueThis result draws attention to the need for facilitation and guidance from public servants and the servants' organizations to help citizen coproducers balance out these otherwise paralyzing value conflicts. Moreover, the lack of statistically significant effects of trust and external efficacy is a valuable finding for literature. The result shows that, in the drivers of coproduction behavior, there is no consistent relationship between citizen trust in government or external efficacy and coproduction behavior.

Eğitim Kurumu Yöneticilerinin Kayırmacı Tutum ve Davranışlarının Sonuçları

In this study, where the results of nepotistic attitudes and behaviors of educational institution managers are examined, it is aimed to provide qualitative content support to researchers who will conduct research on this topic by contributing to the literature on the consequences of nepotism. The expectation of individuals in the business environment is based on equality, justice and receiving the response, behavior and appreciation that they deserve. Education managers should be equidistant from each employee at this point. They should evaluate teachers not according to kinship, gender or their closeness to people, but according to the quality of the work done. If there is favoritism in the educational institution, it can be clearly seen that education managers exhibit nepotistic attitudes. Education administrators, even if they are in an unfair situation, have a nepotistic attitude when they protect and protect the people they feel close to. There are also relations of interest in educational institutions where there is nepotism. As is traditionally the case in many cultures, nepotistic behaviors are often observed in our culture. Because in our society, relationships come before merit. Education managers often exhibit nepotism behaviors in issues such as fair distribution of workload and performance evaluation. For this reason, according to the level of empathy of teachers, whether educational administrators are fair in their nepotistic attitudes and behaviors can be understood from the trust felt in educational administrators and their constructive, analytical approaches in the field of education. Educational administrators working in educational institutions should manage their affairs by taking into account the principles of fairness and openness. Thus, education managers will have drawn a picture away from nepotism by keeping an equal distance from their colleagues. As a result of nepotism practices, the human resource, which is the most important element of the organization, cannot be managed in the desired way and this situation negatively affects the performance, which is the organizational product of the educational institution. While the private sector is affected to a limited extent, this impact is felt more intensely in the public sector, which costs the entire society. It has been determined that due to the nepotistic attitude applied by education managers, the absenteeism rates of educational institution employees have increased, their desire to quit their jobs has increased, and as a result of these attitudes, a working area has been formed in which the trust institution Decays, where a distinction is formed between employees close to or far from management. The expression of nepotism appears as an important problem that causes inequality from a social point of view and deeply affects society. As a result of the loss of social balance, an environment of chaos occurs in society, but there may be consequences that reduce the trust of citizens in public institutions and organizations. Trust in other public institutions and organizations, especially educational institutions, is disappearing, the anxiety level of educational staff and public employees, hence their desire to quit their jobs, is getting stronger, and corporate interest and loyalty are weakening. Key Words: Educational Institution, Educational Administrator, Nepotism

FOSTERING BETTER PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIZEN TRUST ON RIAU ISLANDS RURAL COASTAL DEVELOPMENT

This study aims to get a comprehensive condition of citizen trust to the different village government characteristics in the coastal area of Riau Islands Province. The study of previous research literature systematically placed this research as a system of thinking to be used for improving the practice of promoting citizen trust towards the implementation of village government in a sustainable manner. Through the use of qualitative descriptive research design, researchers emphasize the technicality of primary data collection with key in-depth interviews from the rural community, local businesses and also empower academics which expertise relevantly. Information was collected, managed, and analyzed gradually and systematically to produce a valid and reliable conclusion. The results illustrate that each characteristic village shows a various picture of citizen trust conditions. However, there is a major node of citizen trust vulnerability which includes aspects concerning, the plan for allocating needs and using rural development budgets that are misperceptions both shown by the citizen and the rural government itself. Thus strengthening the social learning process through the support of relevant in-depth inquiry from the sociology disciplines and anthropology concerning rural development will complement the efforts which fostering the sustainable citizens trust towards their rural government.

Getting back to the state: policing the Covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the impact of the pandemic (from 2020 to 2021) on levels of trust and legitimacy of the Chilean police (Carabineros) by the population in the metropolitan area of Santiago, Chile. Based on a pseudo-panel method and a cohort fixed-effects regression model that controlled for unobserved time invariant heterogeneity, we found a significant increase in police legitimacy during the pandemic (on average, 63%, among the adult residents of the region, based on the police legitimacy index comprising six perceptual variables). Evidence suggests that the perceived performance of the Carabineros during the pandemic served to recover the trust of citizens, at least temporarily, even when this intervention entailed the enforcement of anti-popular measures.

Instituutioihin kohdistuvan luottamuksen ja koronapandemiaan liittyvien rajoitustoimenpiteiden dynamiikat Suomessa

Dynamics between trust in institutions and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland Governance of the COVID-19 pandemic is based on the premise that as many citizens as possible follow guidelines and restrictions set by authorities. Successful implementation of these has depended on citizens’ trust. This study examines the dynamics between changes in citizens’ trust in institutions, changes in COVID-19 related restrictions, and changes in the number of COVID-19 cases in Finland between May 2020 and January 2022 using a visual timeline. Changes in citizens’ trust in institutions are evident between surveys, but no clear link between changes in trust and restrictions is evident. Measuring citizen trust during crises is important, as changes can provide governments with information on citizens’ views of the legitimacy and success of crisis leadership, governance, and ultimately, the political system.

Civic engagement and socio-economic proximity in urban areas

ABSTRACT Diversity boosts innovation and creativity in urban contexts, but it can also undermine civicness by negatively impacting individuals’ trust of other citizens, also hampering economic and institutional performance. By employing a spatial analysis approach using geocoded data from 5776 residents in three major urban Italian areas, we explore whether sharing geographical space in a context of socio-economic difference (in terms of income and education) affects individuals’ choices to be civically engaged. The evidence reveals that the geographical proximity of an individual to others with different socio-economic characteristics decreases their civic engagement. A key challenge when designing urban policies is to reconcile the positive effects of diversity as it influences different economic–societal aspects, with the associated social tensions.

Why trust? A mixed-method investigation of the origins and meaning of trust during the COVID-19 lockdown in Denmark.

Trust is highlighted as central to effective disease management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Denmark seemed to embody this understanding. Characterizing the Danish response were high levels of public compliance with government regulations and restrictions coupled with high trust in the government and other members of society. In this article, we first revisit prior claims about the importance of trust in securing compliant citizen behaviour based on a weekly time-use survey that we conducted during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic (2 April-18 May 2020). Analysis of activity episodes, rather than merely self-reported compliance, both reconfirms the importance of institutional trust and nuances prior suggestions of detrimental effects of trust in other citizens. These survey-based results are further augmented through thematic analysis of 21 in-depth interviews with respondents sampled from the survey participants. The qualitative analysis reveals two themes, the first focusing on trust in others in Danish society and the second on the history of trust in Denmark. Both themes are based on narratives layered in cultural, institutional and inter-personal levels and further underline that institutional and social trust are complementary and not countervailing. We conclude by discussing how our analysis suggests pathways towards an increased social contract between governments, institutions and individuals that might be of use during future global emergencies and to the overall functioning of democracies.

Immigration policy congruence and political trust: a cross-national analysis among 23 European countries

AbstractThis study examines how immigration policy impacts citizens’ trust in politicians and political institutions. The article argues that immigration policy affects political trust through policy congruence. More specifically, it claims that the level of restrictiveness of immigration policy impacts political trust heterogeneously, conditional on whether citizens are anti- or pro-immigration and additionally on how strongly citizens are seeking information about political issues, the latter making it potentially easier for them to identify policy (in-)congruencies. Combining country-level data on immigration policy outputs in European countries with individual-level data to complex multilevel models, the findings reveal that the level of congruence of immigration policy to citizens’ immigration preferences alone does not impact political trust. But they show that immigration policy impacts the political trust of citizens who are highly anti-immigration and at the same time very strongly seeking political information. Overall, however, the article concludes that the impact of immigration policy congruence on political trust is moderate at best.

The role of trust in the adoption of cooperative arrangement types in e-credentials markets

The interest in digital identities has increased considerably in academia and practice in recent years. This can be seen by the many electronic identity projects worldwide and the numerous published studies that provide insightful narratives and descriptive case findings about success factors and barriers to the adoption of national authentication infrastructures. In this paper, we take a closer look to the role of trust on the design and implementation of a nation-wide e-credential market. We argue that trust in political and economic institutions can be an important factor to explain differences in the chosen cooperative arrangement which can range from monopolistic, purely state-controlled e-credential markets, to polypolistic, decentralized e-credential markets where also private vendors offer state recognized e-ID on their own or in partnership with the government. Following an inductive reasoning process, we develop three testable propositions which may inspire further empirical research and offer practitioners a new angle to rethink e-credential markets in the light of citizen trust in political and economic institutions.