Trust, but verify? Understanding citizen attitudes toward evidence‐informed policy making
基于六国调查，发现公众对科学专家的信任与支持循证决策正相关，而对政府和同胞的信任则负相关；政府抗疫表现评价会调节这种关系。
Abstract In this article, we inquire to what extent different manifestations of trust are associated with public support for evidence informed policy making (EIPM). We present the results of a cross‐sectional survey conducted in the peak of the second COVID‐19 wave in six Western democracies: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland, and the United States ( N = 8749). Our findings show that public trust in scientific experts is generally related to positive attitudes toward evidence‐informed policy making, while the opposite is the case for trust in governments and fellow citizens. Interestingly, citizens' assessment of government responses to COVID‐19 moderates the relationship between trust and attitudes toward EIPM. Respondents who do rather not trust their governments or their fellow citizens are more in favor of EIPM if they evaluate government responses negatively. These findings suggest that attitudes toward EIPM are not only related to trust, but also strongly depend on perceived government performance.