Open AccessTrust in government in times of economic crisis
Author(s) -
Robert Sobiech
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
studia z polityki publicznej
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2719-7131
pISSN - 2391-6389
DOI - 10.33119/kszpp.2016.1.4
Subject(s) - transparency (behavior) , openness to experience , public trust , government (linguistics) , blind trust , public relations , public sector , business , process (computing) , phenomenon , political science , public administration , public economics , economics , law , social psychology , psychology , philosophy , physics , linguistics , quantum mechanics , computer science , operating system
The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the existing studies concerning the phenomenon of public trust in government. Low trust in government has been frequently defined as a key problem influencing the policy process in many countries. The economic crises reinforced the importance of trust and triggered public debates on the necessary reforms of the public sector. The paper examines the key theories and research conducted by social scientists with a particular emphasis on the role of trust in risk societies. The review of the existing literature concentrates on the drivers of trust, showing the importance of two interlinked logics: the logic of consequences (the performance approach) and the logic of appropriateness (the process approach). The first one explains trust as a result of outputs and outcomes of government policies and services. The logic of appropriateness claims that trust is built on values and identity and depends on the adoption by governments the rules of integrity, openness, responsiveness and transparency. Trust in government is also deeply rooted in a broader system of rules, norms andvalues known as the trust culture. The last part of the paper is an attempt to trace an impact of an economic crisis on public trust. Studies of public opinion do not fully confirm the opinions on low trust and a decline in trust in government and trust in public administration in times of crisis. Some studies reveal considerable fluctuations of public trust in selected countries. In other countries, the public evaluation of government and public administration is high and there are only slight modifications in citizens’ perception of the government.