How Education Shapes Trust: Empirical Evidence from China
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The general assumption in the mainstream social capital theory states a likely causal relationship between education and trust in people, while such a conclusion might be contextual. Using the CGSS data and employing a fuzzy regression-discontinuity design where the compulsory education law (1986) in China is taken as an exogenous instrument, I find a positive correlation between education and the level of generalized trust. Further, with respect to another measure of trustthe radius of trust, I find no evidence supportive to significant correlations between education and trust in different distant social groups. However, the second-stage results do not suggest any likely causal effect from education on generalized trust or trust in different relationships, which indicates the OLS results might suffer from omitted variable bias.
Author: Xingqi Wang
Institution: Johns Hopkins University
Language: English
Topic: Social Capital and Networks
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4404973474