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European Sociological Review Advance Access originally published online on February 20, 2008
European Sociological Review 2008 24(3):271-283; doi:10.1093/esr/jcn004
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Social Trust and Fractionalization: A Possible Reinterpretation

Christian Bjørnskov

Department of Economics, Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, Prismet, Silkeborgvej 2, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Tel: +45 89 48 61 81; Fax: +45 89 48 61 97; Email: ChBj{at}asb.dk

This paper takes a closer look at the importance of fractionalization for the creation of social trust. It first argues that the determinants of trust can be divided into two categories: those affecting individuals’ trust radii and those affecting social polarization. A series of estimates using a much larger country sample than in previous literature confirms that fractionalization in the form of income inequality and political diversity adversely affects social trust while ethnic diversity does not. However, these effects differ systematically across countries, questioning standard interpretations of the influence of fractionalization on trust.

Manuscript received: March 1, 2007.


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