Institutional Trust, Perceptions of Distributive Unfairness, and Income across Salvadoran Municipalities

Emilio Depetris Chauvin
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Emilio Depetris-Chauvin

No 10372, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Using multiple waves of two public opinion surveys and a two-way fixed effect model, this paper analyzes how people’s perceptions and attitudes towards public institutions shifted with the business cycle in El Salvador during 2004–2018. It finds that individuals’ levels of trust toward both the president and the municipal government are positively associated with higher levels of income at the municipality level. Income is also a strong predictor of trust in mass media, confidence in the judicial system and, to a lesser extent, trust in the national legislature but income does not affect trust in the Catholic Church. The relationship between income and trust toward the president and municipalities masks a relevant heterogeneity from a rural-urban divide as well as from differences in municipal state capacity. Further, views of income distribution fairness as well as preferences for democracy are positively shaped by municipality-specific business cycles. In contrast, neither generalized trust nor satisfaction with democracy is empirically associated with income at the municipality level.

Date: 2023-03-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pol and nep-soc
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