We examine the impact of the values respect for others and responsibility on productivity and the accumulation of physical and human capital for a sample of 58 countries. We find that these two core values are important and that their impact is substantial. Respect for others works primarily...

Trust is an important determinant of economic development. Understanding its origins is therefore critical. We develop a principal-agent model with heterogeneous players to determine the aggregate amount of trustworthiness and trust in a society. People are distributed according to their...

Trustworthiness is the basis for maximizing output in economic exchange and in explaining differences in standards of living around the world. A society's willingness to trust and the quality of its institutions have their origins in the trustworthiness of its citizens. We propose a theoretical...

Trust is an important component of social capital that has been linked to improvements in macroeconomic performance. The exogeneity of trust, however, is questionable. We develop a theoretical model in which trust is endogenous and depends on three factors: institutions for capture and...