More interpersonal trust can have a significant impact on growth in developing countries

In a recent thesis from the University of Gothenburg, researcher Pelle Ahlerup demonstrates that there is reason to believe that interpersonal trust is more important in countries with a weak legal system, and that the quality of the legal system plays more of a role in societies where there is less trust between people.

“My research shows that trust between people can replace poorly functioning social institutions and vice versa,” says Ahlerup, an economics researcher at the School of Business, Economics and Law. “Projects that aim to increase interpersonal trust can have a major impact in poor countries where investors and the general public do not have access to a reliable legal system. This also means that countries with low levels of trust between people have more to gain from improving the quality of their legal system and other social institutions.”

Previous research has shown that countries where people have greater trust in each other generally perform better in a number of areas and have higher growth figures. Similar results have been shown for the importance of the legal system and other social institutions – countries with more reliable institutions generally have a higher standard of living.

“In my thesis, I adopt a different approach to previous studies when discussing the effects of access to social capital, and compare different countries,” continues Ahlerup. “The results of my research can be used to increase our understanding of when trust plays a role and when it doesn't in terms of growth.”

The thesis, which comprises five separate articles in the fields of institutional and political economics, also includes discussions of why there are such major differences between countries in terms of the number and size of different population groups and the consequences these can have; the impact of the strength of populations' national identity on how effectively states can be governed; and how and why natural catastrophes affect the risk of civil war.

The thesis has been successfully defended.

Author: Pelle Ahlerup
Title: “Essays on Conflict, Institutions, and Ethnic Diversity”
Institution: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Gothenburg University

Link to thesis: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/21200

For further information, please contact: Pelle Ahlerup, Pelle.Ahlerup@economics.gu.se

tel: +46 31 786 1370

Media Contact

Helena Aaberg idw

All latest news from the category: Business and Finance

This area provides up-to-date and interesting developments from the world of business, economics and finance.

A wealth of information is available on topics ranging from stock markets, consumer climate, labor market policies, bond markets, foreign trade and interest rate trends to stock exchange news and economic forecasts.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors