Levels Of Political Trust Research Articles

Social Capital and Political Trust in Finland: An Individual‐level Assessment

Political trust has in previous studies mainly been associated, either positively or negatively with a set of political variables, such as subjective knowledge of and interest in political issues, political efficacy, national pride, post‐materialist values and corruption permissiveness. More recently, it has been debated whether or not indicators of social capital also have an impact on political trust. It has been argued that social capital helps to sustain civic virtues and that lack of it will create democratic problems like political dissatisfaction and declining political participation. While trends in social capital seem stable and high at the aggregate level in Finland, the level of political trust has varied to a much larger degree. In this article, indicators of social capital, political variables and social background variables are set against the Finns’ trust in politicians and the parliament as well as their satisfaction with democracy. The analysis shows that social capital, as defined by a set of variables comprised of interpersonal trust and voluntary organisational activism, does not, en bloc, prove to be a powerful predictor of political trust. However, when the social capital items are examined as single factors, interpersonal trust seems to have strong impact on all levels of political trust, while the influence of voluntary organisational activity is less evident.

Stealth soapboxes: political information efficacy, cynicism and uses of celebrity weblogs among readers

This study tests the effects of personalized and `stealth' political discourse on weblogs (or blogs) and the repercussions on levels of political trust, information efficacy and political uses/gratifications. By surveying readers of three different blogs (N=1838), this study identified significant effects as a result of exposure to political statements on blogs. Indeed, there were differences in the levels of political cynicism depending on how political statements were communicated. Readers of non-political blogs were more confident in their level of political information and their ability to participate in politics. Finally, political uses/approaches and avoidances were examined, as were differences based on gender and age.

Why are Latinos More Politically Trusting than Other Americans?

This paper examines why Latinos, over the past thirty years, are consistently more trusting of the federal government than are Anglos and Blacks. We address this puzzle by turning to previous research on racial politics and political trust. Consistent with previous research, discrimination and generational status are important predictors of Latinos' levels of political trust, with first generation Latinos more trusting than later generation Latinos. Encounters with racial discrimination also make Latinos and Blacks less trusting of government. In contrast, Anglos' levels of political trust can be explained by their economic evaluations as well as their partisanship. While these findings are insightful, they do not directly address why inter-group differences arise when it comes to their trust in government. We argue that, combined with generational distinctions amongst Latinos in their levels of trust, the heavy flow of Latino immigration in the past thirty years has changed the Latino population in such a way that the views of the foreign-born are disproportionately represented in survey questions related to trust in government. This is producing a Latino population that is more inclined to trust government than Anglos or Blacks. We then examine the impact of political trust on individuals' opinions towards redistributive policies. Political trust has a strong and positive effect on Latinos' attitudes towards such policies. These findings have important implications for the future of public opinion and redistributive policy-making in the U.S.

Political Trust and the Success of Fiscal Consolidations

The paper examines the effects of political trust on fiscal consolidations. Building on the works of Easton (1965) and Gamson (1968) a theoretical framework is derived on the main channels through which the success of fiscal consolidation can be affected by the level of political trust in the system. The predictions of the theory are tested quantitatively based on evidence from the Economic and Monetary Union and qualitatively through a most-likely - least-likely case comparison between Hungary and Sweden. The results provide strong support for the hypotheses and indicate that in the absence of external pressures lasting fiscal consolidations can take place only in a high-trust regime. In a low-trust regime even if an external crisis triggers adjustment, the incentive to buy support through short-term promises ultimately erodes the commitment to restraint and imbalances reemerge.

Political trust and attitudes towards redistribution

Attitudes towards redistribution, and their links to political trust, are compared in Sweden and Norway using data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). Attitudes towards redistribution are quite similar in both countries at an aggregate level, but class differences and differences between left and right party sympathizers are larger in Sweden than in Norway. Levels of political trust and personal political efficacy are clearly higher in Norway, but in neither of the countries are there any links between political efficacy and trust on the one hand and attitudes towards redistribution on the other. It is concluded that arguments about such a link may be wrong in putting emphasis on political trust as a determinant of attitudes towards redistribution. A possible alternative interpretation of the findings in this paper is that they are specific to the Scandinavian countries, where welfare state intervention has been institutionalized to a higher degree than elsewhere.

Economics vs. values in political trust in Korea

This paper investigates the relationships between economic and/or value determinants and political trust using the 1985 Public Opinion Study for National Development in Korea conducted by the Korea Institute of Social Studies (KISS). Also examined are the relative effects of perceived personal financial situations and macro/collective economic conditions on levels of political trust to distinguish which one is more important in determining political trust in Korea. Results indicate that the trust in the political institutions and government performance depends on both personal financial security and national economic conditions. Equally important is the perception of how people think they have been treated. If Koreans perceive that they are being treated unfairly, they are likely to form, negative attitudes towards politics. We also found that, regardless of which party Koreans favor, if the government does not stabilize the economy, they do not hesitate to withdraw their support from it.

Economic ‘Stagflation’ and Public Support for the Political System

Declining trust in politicians and political institutions is one of the most dramatic and well-documented trends in American public opinion. Confidence in religious, educational and other institutions has also waned, but emphasis has focused on diminished political trust, both because it may summarize a wide range of diffuse grievances and because it might indicate an increased potential for disruptive action, political violence and instability. In the decade from 1968 to 1978, the level of political trust (measured by the conventional five-item CPS/NES index) was halved, the proportion of the public expressing moderate or high levels of trust falling from 64 to 33 per cent. The greatest decline in the index level (a drop of 14 points) occurred between 1972 and 1974.