We examine whether a corruption scandal in which the incumbent is implicated undermines trust in local government. We … data on the level of trust expressed in local politicians drawn from a new survey conducted in late 2009. We use matching … methods to improve the identification of the effect of corruption scandals on trust, comparing municipalities affected by a …

In this paper we investigate the long- and short-run relationships between disasters and societal trust. A growing body … determinants of social capital in general, and trust in particular. We present new cross-country and panel data evidence of another … important determinant of trust—the frequency of natural disasters. Frequent naturally occurring events such as storms require …

To investigate the relation between trust and formal institutions, we analyze bilateral trade patterns in a sample of … 16 European countries between 1996-2009. Trust in trading partners has a significant positive effect on bilateral trade …. However, our results suggest that trust and formal institutions are substitutes, as the positive effect of trust on trade is …