Stalin and the origins of mistrust

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Nikolova, Milena; Popova, Olga; Otrachshenko, Vladimir
• 署名单位: University of Groningen; Brookings Institution; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Charles University Prague; Czech Academy of Sciences; Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Ural Federal University; Justus Liebig University Giessen
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104629
• 发表日期: 2022
• 关键词: Social trust; Institutional trust; Social capital; Gulag; Forced labor; Economic history; Former Soviet Union

摘要

We examine current differences in trust levels within the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) and trace their origins back to the system of forced labor during Stalin, which was marked by high incarceration rates and harsh punishments. We explore whether those exposed to knowledge about the repressions became less trusting and transferred this social norm to future generations and communities. We argue that political repressions were more salient and visible to local communities living near forced labor camps (gulags), which symbolized the harshness of Stalin's regime. Combining contemporary survey data with the geolocation of forced labor camps, we find that living near former gulags lowers present-day social trust and civic engagement. These effects are independent of living near places where Stalin's victims were arrested. Moreover, they are above and beyond any experiences with war or civil conflict that the extant literature documents, indicating that the gulag system's repressiveness is a crucial trigger of the mistrust culture within the FSU countries today. As such, we furnish novel evidence on how past political repression matters for current socioeconomic outcomes. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.