In the following I will present the paper “Who trusts others?” from the authors Alberto Alesina and Eliana La Ferrara. Afterwards I will comment on the paper, criticise some points of it and finally I will give proposals for further research. The structure of this term-paper is as follows: At first I will give a general introduction into the theoretical basics of this paper. This part will explain why it is important to analyse interpersonal trust and it will contain information about the main research hypothesis of the two authors. The second part is about the data and descriptive statistics of the reference paper. This section will contain information about the most important variables used for the regressions of the paper “Who trusts others?” and it will present the first conclusions about the data. The third segment of this paper will expose the econometric evidence. Here I will give a summary about every table used in the reference paper and explain the most important findings of the regressions. After that there will follow a very short segment where I will summarise the main results of the reference paper. In the last part I will give a comment about the reference paper and will add some criticism. This section will end with proposals for further research based on the current economic perspectives. The paper will end with a short summery of my comments and research proposals.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Structure
- Introduction
- Data and descriptive statistics
- Econometric evidence
- Main findings / conclusions
- Criticism and further research
- Own conclusions
- References
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
The paper "Who trusts others?" by Alberto Alesina and Eliana La Ferrara aims to analyze the factors that influence interpersonal trust, which is a key component of social capital. The authors explore various influences on trust, including individual characteristics, past experiences, and community composition.
- The impact of moral beliefs and culture on trust.
- The role of past experiences and personal history in shaping trust.
- The influence of community homogeneity and heterogeneity on trust levels.
- The relationship between trust and interaction frequency.
- The effect of legal institutions on trust.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Structure: This section outlines the paper's organization and provides a brief overview of each chapter's focus.
- Introduction: This chapter discusses the importance of interpersonal trust in economic activities, highlighting its role in reducing transaction costs and enhancing government efficiency. The authors present five key hypotheses about the determinants of trust.
- Data and descriptive statistics: This chapter describes the data used in the study, which is primarily sourced from the General Social Survey (GSS) from 1974 to 1994. It explains how the variables are defined and measured, and presents some initial observations about the data.
- Econometric evidence: This chapter focuses on the econometric results of the study, providing a summary of the statistical analysis and the key findings regarding individual and community determinants of trust.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This paper focuses on interpersonal trust, social capital, individual characteristics, community variables, economic efficiency, trust in institutions, and econometric analysis.
- Quote paper
- Christian Kreutzer (Author), 2015, Which Characteristics or Experiences Influence Interpersonal Trust? Comments and Criticism of the Paper "Who trusts others" by Alesina and La Ferrara, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/432916
