Violent conflict and parochial trust: Lab-in-the-field and survey evidence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Werner, Katharina; Skali, Ahmed
• 署名单位: University of Cologne; University of Passau; University of Groningen
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103550
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: trust; CONFLICT; Direct exposure; Indirect exposure; religion; DISCRIMINATION

摘要

How does conflict exposure affect trust? We hypothesize that direct (first-hand) experience with conflict induces parochialism: trust towards out-groups worsens, but trust towards in-groups, owing to positive experiences of kin solidarity, may improve. Indirect exposure to conflict through third-party accounts, on the other hand, reduces trust toward everyone, arguably owing to negativity bias. We find consistent support for our hypotheses in a labin-the-field experiment in Maluku, Indonesia, which witnessed a salient Christian-Muslim conflict during 1999-2002, as well as in three cross-country datasets exploiting temporal and spatial variation in exposure to violence. Our results help resolve a seeming contradiction in the literature and inform policies on resolving conflicts.