Cross-national comparative analysis of generalised social trust in 60 countries shows that it is associated with, and is an integral part of, a tight syndrome of cultural, social, economic, and political variables. High trust countries are characterized by ethnic homogeneity, Protestant...

This paper identifies six main theories of the determinants of social trust, and tests them against survey data from seven nations, 1999-2001. Three of the six theories of trust fare rather poorly and three do better. First and foremost, social trust tends to be high among citizens who believe...

Trust in other people is general when it includes remote and dissimilar others (i.e., out-groups). But whether trust in outgroups can be created independently of trust in in-groups is controversial, and conclusive evidence has been unavailable so far. This article fills this gap, analyzing under...