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Income inequality and interpersonal trust in China
Author(s) -
Yang Zhixu,
Xin Ziqiang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
asian journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-839X
pISSN - 1367-2223
DOI - 10.1111/ajsp.12399
Subject(s) - interpersonal communication , economic inequality , inequality , psychology , china , social psychology , trustworthiness , interpersonal relationship , government (linguistics) , demographic economics , economics , political science , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , law
Two studies investigated the cross‐temporal and cross‐sectional associations between income inequality and interpersonal trust in China. In Study 1, a cross‐temporal meta‐analysis involving 141 studies ( N = 64,853) found that Chinese college students’ scores on the Interpersonal Trust Scale (Rotter, 1967) decreased 0.54 SD from 1998 to 2016, and that the decline in interpersonal trust across birth cohorts was explained by earlier income inequality index in China. In Study 2, a cross‐regional analysis showed that Chinese citizens in provinces with more income inequality (vs. less inequality) perceived the local government to be less trustworthy and, in turn, reported lower levels of interpersonal trust. These findings contribute to the understanding of the rising income inequality as an explanation for the waning interpersonal trust in China, and point to a crucial channel connecting income inequality with interpersonal trust.