Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
This paper tests whether social trust affects total factor productivity (TFP). Using both development and growth accounting, we find strong evidence of a causal positive effect of social trust on the level and growth of TFP. We moreover observe that the effect of social trust on TFP runs through economic-judicial institutions, but not through political institutions. Those findings resist a series of robustness checks.