Determinants of trust in Turkey

Abstract:

International survey results reveal that Turkey is an extreme example of a distrustful society. A very high level of distrust in the country is not only a bottleneck for its socio-economic development but also for a healthy dialogue between different groups in the society.

This paper studies micro-level survey data from 2012 to analyze the determinants of different trust types – namely, interpersonal, group and political trust, with respect to various individual characteristics, identity preferences, ethnic background and voting behaviors of respondents. The analysis suggests that political behavior has an impact in polarizing the society.

Moreover, ‘citizenship of Turkey’ is seen as not a proper overarching identity, as it does not have a positive impact on either group or interpersonal trust. When the effects of other individual characteristics are analyzed, it is observed that the level of income and education are significant factors in determining all types of trust discussed in this paper.