Government for Leaving No One Behind: Social Equity in Public Administration and Trust in Government

Abstract

A great deal of ink has been spilled over attempts to increase trust in government. Surprisingly, the impact of social equity on trust in government has received relatively little attention. Particularly, insufficient attention has been paid to empirically connect the linkage between a country-level social equity and an individual-level trust in government. The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of social equity on citizen trust in government. This study uses a multilevel analysis to take into account macro-country level social equity. The findings from analyzing the World Values Survey and the Rule of Law Index reveal that social equity in administrative processes is positively associated with trust in the courts and the police. It is imperative to consider social equity in public administration to get a better understanding of developing citizen trust in government.