RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Do Trust and Trustworthiness Pay Off?
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 621
OP 646
DO 10.3368/jhr.40.3.621
VO 40
IS 3
A1 Slemrod, Joel
A1 Katuščák, Peter
YR 2005
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/40/3/621.abstract
AB Are individuals who trust others better off than those who do not? Do trustworthy people prosper more than untrustworthy ones? We formulate and, using data from the World Values Survey, empirically evaluate predictions about the relationship between an individual's income and his self-reported attitudes toward trust and trustworthiness, and predictions about how these relationships are mediated by the average level of trust and trustworthiness in the country. On average, exhibiting trust has a positive, while exhibiting trustworthiness has a negative impact on income. More strikingly, the payoff to being trustworthy increases with the average level of trust in a given country.