Trust and Charitable Behavior: A Study about the Effects of Trust on Charitable Behavior in the Netherlands

Abstract

In this research the effects of social trust, the trust in unknown others, and institutional trust, the trust in institutions, on charitable behaviour is tested, mainly replicating previous research. We find that people with more social trust volunteer more and engage in more small acts of kindness, while people with more institutional trust donate more money and volunteer more. We also find, through interaction, that the effect of institutional trust on financial donations is stronger when people know about the existence of accreditation seals, a kind of trademark for charitable organizations to show their trustworthiness. The suggested mechanisms of previous research are discussed in regard to our results and suggestions are made for policy of charitable organizations and future research.