Presentation by Bo Rothstein at the OECD Workshop on “Joint Learning for an OECD Trust Strategy” on 14 October 2013. Mr. Rothstein discusses how to capture the quality of government and its impact on social trust. He also provides suggestions for what can be done to strengthen quality of government?

1. Trust in Government:
What it is?
How to measure?
What can be done?
Bo Rothstein
The Quality of Government Institute
Department of Political Science
University of Gothenburg
www.qog.pol.gu.se

2. The EU Regional Surveys of Quality of
Government
 First round in 2008, 34,000 respondents in 172
regions in 18 countries
 Second round in 2012, 84,000 respondents in 184
regiions 25 countries. Total interviews 118,000
 Detailed questions about personal experiences &
perceptions of QoG for education, health care and
police
www.qog.pol.gu.se

3. www.qog.pol.gu.se

4. Capturing the Quality of Government
 Questions about bribes and quality of services but also
about other ways that impartiality is breached. For example
• The police force gives special advantages to certain people
in my area.”
• “All citizens are treated equally by the police force in my
area”
• ‘All citizens are treated equally in the public education
system in my area’
• ‘All citizens are treated equally in the public health care
system in my area’
www.qog.pol.gu.se

5. One Result from the European QoG Surveys
• In countries where a large majority percieve the
authorities as corrupt, only a small minority
report having been asked to pay a bribe
• Bribes seem to be the minor problem for what
people in general define as corruption
• Instead, it is various forms of favoritism in the
implementation of public services that people
define a corruption
www.qog.pol.gu.se

6. QoG and Social Trust
• Low levels of QoG turn out to have very strong
negative impact on social trust even controlling
for
• Ineguality
• Ethnic Diversity
• Participation in voluntary associations
• The Political environment
• Demographic (individual) variables
www.qog.pol.gu.se

7. www.qog.pol.gu.se

8. The EQI
 A composite index based
on 16 QoG survey
questions from 2009-2010.
 Round 2 happening now.
www.qog.pol.gu.se

9. What is Trust in Government?
• Important to differentiate between trust in the public
adminstration (including the legal system) and the
elected parts of ”the government
• Huge differences in the data between if people trust
elected officials or appointed officials
• In Sweden, confidence in appointed officials have for
long been higher than for elected officials
• The ”home team” effect. Partisanship versus
impartiality
www.qog.pol.gu.se

10. What can be done to strenghten QoG?
1. Free universal education
2. Universal social services/insurance systems
3. Fairness (impartiality) in the implementation
of public policies
4. Merit based recruitment and promotion to
the civil service
5. Gender equality
www.qog.pol.gu.se