Trust and institutions: A multilevel analysis

In this study, we argue that levels of trust are shaped by formal and informal institutions. We discuss statistical test results that support this view. These utilize World Value Survey results and related data sources to examine the ways that institutions and contextual factors affect individuals' self-reported trust levels. This investigation is the first, to our knowledge, to take into account micro-unit along with macro-unit characteristics to analyze the nature of contextual effects and does so by applying a multilevel regression approach. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.