What Have We Learned About Generalized Trust, If Anything?

After discussing issues related to the conceptualization, measurement, and statistical analysis of data on generalized trust, I survey recent empirical work (mainly from about 2000–2007) on this topic. First, results concerning cross-country differences in the level of generalized trust and the dynamics of these levels are presented. Then comes an investigation of empirical work on the determinants of generalized trust, covering contributions focusing on the impact of civic society, quality of institutions, culture and values, and ethnic heterogeneity. In these studies, generalized trust is treated as the dependent variable. After that, I survey recent empirical work on societal impacts of generalized trust,…