Trustʺ or likewise confidenceʺ (the term preferred in this paper) are notions which have received considerable attention by economists in the last 8-10 years. In this contribution, much emphasis is put on the understanding what we really mean by confidenceʺ, what the differences between...

The aim of this paper is threefold: we first discuss the appropriateness of the traditional trust-game-tree for the analysis of trust relationships. Following the definition put forward by Lee et al. (2005) that "confident expectations and a willingness to be vulnerable are critical components...

In this paper, we discuss the heavily debated issue whether trust (formal institutions) can only serve as complement(s) or rather as substitute(s) of formal institutions (trust). We take trust as a specific, cooperative investment. The trustor is mainly interested in the reliability of the...