hile much ink is spilled about confidence in individual institutional entities, little attention is given to the concept of institutional trust ecosystems, which include a wider spectrum of organizations within society than generally acknowledged. Trust ecosystems are fragile, and where trust deficits arise, those societies are diminished by reduced adherence to government policy and face significant headwinds to the creation of high well-being, prosperous societies.
As demonstrated in the Wellcome Global Monitor a landmark study across 142 countries and territories carried out by Gallup, globally the rise and fall of trust in individual institutions reflects fluctuations in the levels of trust in a seemingly unrelated basket of other institutions. Trust in scientists, a cohort of society often believed to be insulated from the erosion of trust in traditional state institutions, was found to be significantly negatively impacted when an individual reported lack of confidence in the military, judicial system, or national government. In people’s minds these entities are interconnected, and actions by individuals in one, whether positive or negative, have ramifications for all.
When these trust ecosystems denigrate it has real world consequences. For example there is a strong relationship between trust in scientists and perceived safety of vaccines. In high income countries over four-fifths of respondents with high trust in scientists agree that vaccines are safe, which is reduced to below 50% for those with reported low trust in scientists.
The trust deficit has been exacerbated by state and non-state actors, including the anti-vaccine movement, who use corruption as a central pillar for their arguments to undermine trust not only in vaccines, but in all institutions. The central argument offered by anti-vaxxers is that the cumulative acts of corruption and malfeasance by actors within institutions, means that no institution is worthy of being trusted, “We know that revolving doors between the corporate and political spheres, the lobbying system, corrupt regulators, the media and judiciary mean that wrongdoing is practically never brought to any semblance of genuine justice." Given that more than two in three adults worldwide believe that corruption is widespread throughout their government and 70% believe corruption is widespread in businesses in their country, they are tapping into a rich vein of widely held beliefs.
National economic policy and macroeconomics also have an impact on the trust ecosystem. Income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient was found to have a statistically significant effect on trust in scientists with predicted trust in science falling by as much as 20% between low- and high-income inequality countries. Although up to date data is unavailable for large portions of the world, initial research indicates that income inequality has been increased by the fiscal policy response to the pandemic, which will lead to further erosion of public trust. This is particularly pertinent in high income countries where the general public are less accepting of inequality arising due to luck.
When citizens lose trust, countries also lose the well-being benefits associated with living in a high trust society. Relying upon the Lloyd's Register Foundation’s World Risk Poll, the United Nations World Happiness Report 2021 shows that believing that it is very likely to have your wallet returned by the police provides twice the positive well-being impact as having your income doubled. To put this effect size in perspective, this is a slightly larger positive impact than the equivalent negative effect of being unemployed, one of the most widely recognized drivers of poor well-being.
Despite the importance of trust and the well-being dividend it can produce, trust must not be blindly given. Misplaced trust can be damaging for individuals where institutions use trust in bad faith. As such, interventions are required that can promote critical reasoning while creating the foundation for greater levels of trust. Data from the Wellcome Global Monitor highlights two routes for enhancing levels of trust in science, which could have broader applicability: increased access to communication devices (mobile phones and internet) in addition to increased education.
Ultimately to reap the benefits of the trust dividend, leaders need to address corruption and perceptions of corruption in their organizations. It is not sufficient for them to enforce the rules rigorously; they must also abide by the rules they themselves set.
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Wallets, Well-being, and the Corrosion of the Trust Ecosystem
Photo by Jeremy Bezanger via Unsplash.
October 4, 2021
Institutional trust ecosystems are fragile, and when trust deficits arise there are widespread real world consequences such as vaccine hesitancy. Worries over corruption and income inequality exacerbate these trust deficits and governments must face this reality, writes Gallup's Andrew Rzepa.
W
hile much ink is spilled about confidence in individual institutional entities, little attention is given to the concept of institutional trust ecosystems, which include a wider spectrum of organizations within society than generally acknowledged. Trust ecosystems are fragile, and where trust deficits arise, those societies are diminished by reduced adherence to government policy and face significant headwinds to the creation of high well-being, prosperous societies.
As demonstrated in the Wellcome Global Monitor a landmark study across 142 countries and territories carried out by Gallup, globally the rise and fall of trust in individual institutions reflects fluctuations in the levels of trust in a seemingly unrelated basket of other institutions. Trust in scientists, a cohort of society often believed to be insulated from the erosion of trust in traditional state institutions, was found to be significantly negatively impacted when an individual reported lack of confidence in the military, judicial system, or national government. In people’s minds these entities are interconnected, and actions by individuals in one, whether positive or negative, have ramifications for all.
When these trust ecosystems denigrate it has real world consequences. For example there is a strong relationship between trust in scientists and perceived safety of vaccines. In high income countries over four-fifths of respondents with high trust in scientists agree that vaccines are safe, which is reduced to below 50% for those with reported low trust in scientists.
The trust deficit has been exacerbated by state and non-state actors, including the anti-vaccine movement, who use corruption as a central pillar for their arguments to undermine trust not only in vaccines, but in all institutions. The central argument offered by anti-vaxxers is that the cumulative acts of corruption and malfeasance by actors within institutions, means that no institution is worthy of being trusted, “We know that revolving doors between the corporate and political spheres, the lobbying system, corrupt regulators, the media and judiciary mean that wrongdoing is practically never brought to any semblance of genuine justice." Given that more than two in three adults worldwide believe that corruption is widespread throughout their government and 70% believe corruption is widespread in businesses in their country, they are tapping into a rich vein of widely held beliefs.
National economic policy and macroeconomics also have an impact on the trust ecosystem. Income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient was found to have a statistically significant effect on trust in scientists with predicted trust in science falling by as much as 20% between low- and high-income inequality countries. Although up to date data is unavailable for large portions of the world, initial research indicates that income inequality has been increased by the fiscal policy response to the pandemic, which will lead to further erosion of public trust. This is particularly pertinent in high income countries where the general public are less accepting of inequality arising due to luck.
When citizens lose trust, countries also lose the well-being benefits associated with living in a high trust society. Relying upon the Lloyd's Register Foundation’s World Risk Poll, the United Nations World Happiness Report 2021 shows that believing that it is very likely to have your wallet returned by the police provides twice the positive well-being impact as having your income doubled. To put this effect size in perspective, this is a slightly larger positive impact than the equivalent negative effect of being unemployed, one of the most widely recognized drivers of poor well-being.
Despite the importance of trust and the well-being dividend it can produce, trust must not be blindly given. Misplaced trust can be damaging for individuals where institutions use trust in bad faith. As such, interventions are required that can promote critical reasoning while creating the foundation for greater levels of trust. Data from the Wellcome Global Monitor highlights two routes for enhancing levels of trust in science, which could have broader applicability: increased access to communication devices (mobile phones and internet) in addition to increased education.
Ultimately to reap the benefits of the trust dividend, leaders need to address corruption and perceptions of corruption in their organizations. It is not sufficient for them to enforce the rules rigorously; they must also abide by the rules they themselves set.
