What Determines Trust in International Organizations?

Zohal Hessami ()
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Zohal Hessami: Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany

No 2011-44, Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz from Department of Economics, University of Konstanz

Abstract: So far no existing study has analyzed what determines people’s trust in the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO even though – in the absence of democratic accountability – this is one of the few ways to assess the legitimacy of these institutions. This study is intended to fill this gap in the literature based on Eurobarometer survey data from the EU-15 countries. The estimation results suggest that individual characteristics (gender, international background, formal education level, personal income, ideological preferences, interest in politics, and exposure to media) as well as the extent of globalization influence trust in the three international organizations. The state of the economy only has a significant effect on trust in the WTO. Moreover, respondents’ attitudes towards globalization have a bearing on trust in all three international organizations. Survey items on individual knowledge and perceptions of the WTO allow us to test additional hypotheses that apply to this institution alone. We find that familiarity with the WTO fosters trust. Finally, beliefs that the EU is well-represented in the WTO, that the WTO has a good reputation and that it is a democratic and necessary institution increases repondents’ propensity to trust the WTO.

Keywords: Institutional trust; International economic organizations; Globalization; International Monetary Fund; World Bank; World Trade Organization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 F15 F33 F53 O19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2011-11-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pol and nep-soc
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