The German Public and its Trust in the ECB: The Role of Knowledge and Information Search

Bernd Hayo and Duncan Neuenkirch ()
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Duncan Neuenkirch: University of Marburg

MAGKS Papers on Economics from Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung)

Abstract: In this paper, we analyse the effects of objective and subjective knowledge about mone-tary policy, as well as the information search patterns, of German citizens on trust in the ECB. We rely on a unique representative public opinion survey of German households conducted in 2011. We find that subjective and factual knowledge, as well as the desire to be informed, about the ECB foster citizens’ trust. Specific knowledge about the ECB is more influential than general monetary policy knowledge. Objective knowledge is more important than subjective knowledge. However, an increasing intensity of media usage, especially newspaper reading, has a significantly negative influence on trust. We con-clude that the only viable way for the ECB to generate more trust in itself is to spread monetary policy knowledge.

Keywords: ECB; Economic knowledge; German public attitudes; Institutional trust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 E52 E58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cba, nep-eec, nep-knm, nep-mac, nep-mon and nep-soc
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The German public and its trust in the ECB: The role of knowledge and information search (2014)
Working Paper: The German Public and its Trust in the ECB: The Role of Knowledge and Information Search (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mar:magkse:201347

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