Confidence in Government and Personal Networks

Abstract

This Study empirically examines the core assumption of social capital argument that general trust promotes inter-group relation. More specifically, The study attempts to show how the trust in political institutions, which has been assumed to have close relationship with general trust, affects range and composition of personal network. Based on nationally representative data collected by ISDPR (Institute for Social development and Policy Research), this study shows that confidence in government increases the range of personal networks in terms of regional background. In addition, confidence in government also affects the composition of personal networks. The discussion focuses on the relationship between the instrumental value of social relationships and performance of the government. Although the mechanism varies across the characteristics of social parameter, this study concludes that the confidence in government increases the inter-group relationships.