Trust as belief or behavior?

Jon Reiersen

Review of Social Economy, 2017, vol. 75, issue 4, 434-453

Abstract: Despite its proposed importance for economic performance, there seems to be little agreement on what trust really is. In economics, trust is generally viewed as a belief regarding the action that is to be expected from others. This contrasts with the view that trust is a way of acting. In his influential book on the nature of explanation in the social sciences, Jon Elster argues that trusting is to act with few precautions. I argue that it is possible to reconcile these seemingly conflicting views about trust. I develop a simple model of trust where both beliefs and precautions play an important role – and where Elster’s understanding of trust can be viewed as a special case.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2016.1269939

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