Transparency and Trust in Government: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Does providing information improve citizens’ perception about government transparency? Does all information matter the same for shaping perceptions about the government? This paper addresses these questions in the context of an online randomized survey experiment conducted in Argentina. Results show that providing information to citizens matters for shaping perceptions about transparency, and the content of the information matters for affecting the evaluation people make about the government. Those who received a “positive” treatment (showing that the government was over-performing on its promises) increased their trust in the government more than those who received a “negative” treatment (showing that the government was underperforming). The evidence highlights that the channel between transparency and trust may be mediated by the performance of the government.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Inter-American Development Bank
Other Authors:	Martín Alessandro
Language:	English
Published:	Inter-American Development Bank
Subjects:	Governance, Government Accountability, Impact Evaluation, Public Expenditure, Government Budget, Politics and Institution, Open Government, Municipal Government, Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer, Randomized Controlled Trial, Political Trust, C83 - Survey Methods • Sampling Methods, H11 - Structure Scope and Performance of Government, D83 - Search • Learning • Information and Knowledge • Communication • Belief • Unawareness, H40 - Publicly Provided Goods: General, C38 - Classification Methods • Cluster Analysis • Principal Components • Factor Models, C99 - Design of Experiments: Other, D90 - Intertemporal Choice: General, Survey experiments; Information; Beliefs: Trust,
Online Access:	http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001569 https://publications.iadb.org/en/transparency-and-trust-government-evidence-survey-experiment
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