Institutions are important for proper economic performance, but are replaceable by trust or other social norms. We show … that when proper institutions and trust are missing, integrity of the individuals can replace them. We construct a model of … a transactions-based economy with contracts preceding the transactions, and show that any one of (1) institutions, (2 …

is measured by indicators of individual values and beliefs, such as trust and respect for others, and confidence in … instruments: the literacy rate at the end of the XIXth century, and the political institutions in place over the past several … and with available measures of institutions in a cross-country setting. …

localized and well-respected administration increased citizens’ trust in local public services. In several Eastern European … countries, communities on both sides of the long-gone Habsburg border have been sharing common formal institutions for a century … Habsburg affiliation increases current trust and reduces corruption in courts and police. Falsification tests of spuriously …

We document that trust in public institutions—and particularly trust in banks, business and government—has declined … the most suffered the biggest loss in confidence in institutions, particularly in trust in government and the financial … over recent years. U.S. time series evidence suggests that this partly reflects the pro-cyclical nature of trust in …

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 …

This is Part 1 of a two-part paper which surveys the historical evidence on the role of institutions in economic growth … that private-order institutions have not historically substituted for public-order ones in enabling markets to function …, clarify the growth effects of other institutions, including contract-enforcement mechanisms, guilds, communities, serfdom, and …

Is human capital a robust predictor of good institutions? Using a new institutional quality measure, the International …

This is Part 2 of a two-part paper which surveys the historical evidence on the role of institutions in economic growth … that private-order institutions have not historically substituted for public-order ones in enabling markets to function …, clarify the growth effects of other institutions, including contract-enforcement mechanisms, guilds, communities, serfdom, and …