While previous research documents a negative relationship between government size and economic growth, suggesting an … economic cost of big government, a given government size generally affects growth differently in different countries. As a … possible explanation of this differential effect, we explore whether perceived government legitimacy (measured by satisfaction …

the most suffered the biggest loss in confidence in institutions, particularly in trust in government and the financial …We document that trust in public institutions "and particularly trust in banks, business and government" has declined … sector. Finally, analysis of several repeated cross-sections of confidence within U.S. states yields similar qualitative …