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The aim of the dissertation is to study the sources of the generalized trust. Generalized trust can be understood as trust in previously unknown fellow citizens. The study answers this question by utilizing both comparative and within-country survey datasets. In addition to the summary, the study consists of five research articles where the generation of trust is approached from the point of view of individual- and country level determinants.
It is possible to identify two main lines of research from the literature concerning the sources of generalized trust in society that form the main hypotheses of this dissertation. Firstly, some authors stress the importance of civic engagement in associations, as well as the social interaction at the grassroot level of society as the important determinants of trust in fellow citizens (the society-centred hypothesis).
Secondly, many researchers approach the question of the sources of generalized trust from the point of view of fair and well-functioning public institutions (the institutioncentred hypothesis). This perspective is usually closely associated with the discussion about the effects of the welfare state on generalized trust. According to the institutioncentred hypothesis, the differences in the levels of generalized trust between societies result from variations in administrative arrangements, such as welfare-state institutions. Therefore, fair, just and well-functioning public institutions are believed to reinforce trust in fellow citizens. It has been, in particular, suggested that the universal welfare policy pursued in the Nordic countries is a key factor behind the high trust levels in these countries, while on the other hand, the means-tested system is thought to generate mistrust in both welfare-state institutions and fellow citizens.
Data come from several national (welfare and services survey, HYPA) and international comparative questionnaire surveys (European Social Survey and ISSP). Besides descriptive statistics, linear and logistic regression, as well as generalized linear models and multilevel analyses are utilized as research methods. The study clarifies the sources of generalized trust – as well as the mechanisms generating this trust - by combining both macro and micro level analyses.
The results of the study primarily support the arguments revolving around the institution-centred hypothesis when we survey both the sources and mechanisms of generalized trust. Further, the society-centred hypothesis gains some support, as it was demonstrated that civic engagement in associations has some positive consequences on the generalized, but particularly on those that do not actively participate in associations. Overall, the main result of the study is that “just” institutions matter the most and that civil society centred sources matter less to the generation of social trust. Although vibrant associational life and grassroots sociability may have many effects on civil society and welfare, they are not, in any event, sufficient to guarantee trust in fellow citizens.
Along with a considerable body of research on the topic, this study also supports the idea of the importance of the universal welfare state as the important ingredient of the trustful society. The mechanisms through which the universal welfare state has an impact on the high levels of generalized trust seem to associate more with the experiences of procedural justice of the welfare state institutions than with the ability of the welfare state to inhibit the generation of the socially distinct underclass as stated in earlier research. In addition to contacts with welfare state institutions, their assumed generosity might also serve as significant societal sources of interpersonal trust in the nation itself. However, though the experiences of just and adequate welfare services matter to a certain degree, a compelling finding is that the impartiality and objectivity of taxation explain an even a larger portion of the differences in the trust levels between the countries studied. In other words, taxation is felt to be more impartial in those countries with high levels of taxation, which again, is associated with increased levels of generalized trust.
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