Return on Trust is Lower for Immigrants

A-Tier
Journal: Economic Journal
Year: 2019
Volume: 129
Issue: 621
Pages: 1992-2009

Authors (2)

Elena Cettolin (not in RePEc) Sigrid Suetens (Universiteit van Tilburg)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We conducted an experiment with a representative sample of the Dutch population to study whether trustworthiness depends on the ethnicity of the interaction partner. Native Dutch trustees play with an anonymous trustor, who is either another native Dutch or a non-Western immigrant. We find that trustees reciprocate trust up to 12% less if the trustor is a non-Western immigrant than if he/she is native Dutch. This percentage increases up to 23% for trustees who report disliking ethnic diversity in an independent survey. Since the decision to reciprocate does not involve behavioural risk, our results provide evidence of taste-based discrimination.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:econjl:v:129:y:2019:i:621:p:1992-2009.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29