Income inequality and social trust
结合英国青年调查数据和在线实验，发现收入不平等会降低社会信任，而较高的相对经济地位则提升信任，揭示了不平等损害信任的两个不同渠道。
We study how economic inequality affects social trust. We test this relationship both using correlational evidence from a large social survey of British youth as well as novel causal evidence from a series of online experiments. We find causal evidence that higher inequality has a negative impact on social trust. By contrast, a high relative position leads to higher social trust in both samples. In times where inequality is on the rise these findings are cause for concern. • We examine how economic inequality affects social trust using both observational and experimental data. • Correlational evidence from a large UK youth survey shows that individuals in a higher economic position report more trust. • We provide causal evidence from online experiments that higher inequality reduces social trust, while higher relative position increases it. • Our experimental design cleanly separates the effects of inequality exposure from relative economic position. • These findings highlight two distinct channels through which inequality undermines trust, raising concern in increasingly unequal societies.