The relationship between trust, cognitive skills, and democracy: Evidence from 30 countries around the world

Arbeitspapier

Based on highly comparable data from the OECD PIAAC Programme, this note analyzes the relationship between generalized trust and cognitive skills among 30 countries around the world. The results show that the strength and direction of the relationship is not a universal characteristic but varies substantially among countries worldwide. A detailed descriptive analysis of this variation provides evidence that the relationship strengthens with the level of democracy in a country. In a second step, German separation and reunification is used as external variation in the level of democracy in the German PIAAC subsample. The results support the evidence from the cross-country analysis. Thus, the institutional framework in a country not only shapes an individual's level of trust but also amplifies the relationship between individual characteristics such as cognitive skills and generalized trust.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) ; No. 650

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems ; Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
• Subject: Generalized trust ; political institutions ; cognitive skills ; PIAAC

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Schnitzlein, Daniel D.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät
• (where): Hannover
• (when): 2019

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/200662
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET