Two Dimensions of Political Trust in Russia

Konstantin Kholodilin (), Vyacheslav N. Ovchinnikov, Marina Yu. Malkina and Igor A. Moiseev

No 1934, Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin from DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: This paper analyzes two dimensions of factors of political trust in Russia. The first dimension is the target dimension (sociotropic vs. egocentric), the second dimension is the time dimension (retrospective vs. perspective). The study is based on the microdata of 2016 Life in Transition Survey (LiTS) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We find a robust evidence in favor of the dominant sociotropic channel of political trust. Thus, individuals, when deciding whether to trust or not trust into the Russian government, are primarily guided by the improvements in the external environment. Moreover, we find that the impact of sociotropic factors on political trust depends on the level of government. The improvements in political performance are the most important determinant of trust in the Russian president, while the institutional change and the economic development are the most important determinants in the models of trust in other government levels. Finally, we find that individuals who have lost their wealth show more trust than those who have preserved or increased it. However, this effect only works, if individuals are optimistic toward the future.

Keywords: Political trust; sociotropic channel; egocentric channel Russia; microdata; Life in Transition Survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: P26 P27 P37 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 p.
Date: 2021
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-pol, nep-soc and nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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