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The Determinants of Trust: Evidence from Rural South India

Author

Listed:
  • Hilger, Anne

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Nordman, Christophe Jalil

    (IRD, DIAL, Paris-Dauphine)

Abstract
Trust and participation in social networks are inherently interrelated. We make use of India's demonetization policy, an unexpected and unforeseeable exogenous variation, to causally identify the effect of social networks in determining trust. We use first-hand quantitative and qualitative data from rural South India and control for individual characteristics (personality traits, cognitive ability) that could influence network formation and trust, finding that social interactions have a significant effect on trust among men, as well as across castes. Among lower castes, who live in homogeneous neighborhoods and relied on neighbors and employers to cope, extending one's network lowers trust in neighbors. Among middle castes, who live in more heterogeneous neighborhoods and relied predominantly on other caste members, a larger network size leads to greater trust placed in kin among employees but lesser in neighbors. This paper thus shows that social interactions can foster trust and highlights the importance of clearly defining in- and out-groups in trust measures within highly segregated societies.

Suggested Citation

  • Hilger, Anne & Nordman, Christophe Jalil, 2020. "The Determinants of Trust: Evidence from Rural South India," IZA Discussion Papers 13150, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13150
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    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp13150.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sébastien Michiels & Christophe Jalil Nordman & Suneha Seetahul, 2021. "Many Rivers to Cross: Social Identity, Cognition, and Labor Mobility in Rural India," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 697(1), pages 66-80, September.
    2. Yang Yang, 2023. "Hukou Identity and Economic Behaviours: A Social Identity Perspective," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph23-02 edited by Catherine Bros & Julie Lochard.
    3. Mary Di Santolo & Isabelle Guérin & Sébastien Michiels & Cécile Mouchel & Arnaud Natal & Christophe Jalil Nordman & Govindan Venkatasubramanian, 2024. "Ten Years in Tamil Nadu: Exploring Labour, Migration and Debt from Longitudinal Household Surveys in South India," Working Papers DT/2024/02, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    4. Isabelle Guérin & Sébastien Michiels & Arnaud Natal & Christophe Jalil Nordman & Govindan Venkatasubramanian, 2020. "Surviving debt, survival debt in times of lockdown," Working Papers CEB 20-009, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Isabelle Guérin & Arnaud Natal & Christophe Jalil Nordman & Govindan Venkatasubramanian, 2024. "For Money Can’t Buy Me Love? The Political Economy of Marriages Over Two Decades in Tamil Nadu, South India," Working Papers DT/2024/07, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    India; trust; social networks;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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