Ano: 2004
Código: WPE – 049
Autores/Pesquisadores:
- Sergio G. Lazzarini
- Regina Madalozzo
- Rinaldo Artes
- José de Oliveira Siqueira
Abstract:
Attitudinal measures of trust, such as those employed by the World Values Survey (WVS) or the General Social Survey (GSS), have been shown to be correlated with important country-level variables reflecting economic and institutional development. However, Glaeser, Laibson, Scheinkman and Soutter (Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2000) have found that those attitudinal measures poorly correlate with behavioral measures of trust obtained from an experimental “trust game” involving monetary incentives. We replicate Glaser’s et al. study using Brazilian subjects and performing the experiment under two conditions: when individuals meet face-to-face prior to their interaction, and when they cannot do so (a condition that was not employed in Glaeser’s et al. study). We find that attitudinal measures of trust (such as the WVS/GSS scale) do not significantly explain trusting behavior in experimental transactions. This result holds even in the treatment where individuals cannot meet face-to-face. However, echoing Glaeser’s et al. results, attitudinal measures of trust do explain trustworthy behavior: individuals who affirm to be more trusting are apparently less inclined to act opportunistically.