Understanding Trust in Government

Scott E. Robinson is the Bellmon Chair of Public Service at the University of Oklahoma. His research and teaching focus on the management of public service organizations as they cope with various forms of disasters or extreme events.James W. Stoutenborough is an Assistant Professor at Idaho State University. His research and teaching interests include public policy, public opinion, and political psychology with a substantive interest in science and technology, environmental, and energy policy. Arnold Vedlitz is holder of the Bob Bullock Chair in Government and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University. His teaching and research focus is on science and technology policy and environmental and natural resources policy.

• Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Perspectives on Trust in GovernmentChapter 3: A Theory of Trust in Administrative AgenciesChapter 4: Assessing Trust in the EPAChapter 5: Building a Model of Trust in the EPAChapter 6: Demographics and Trust in the EPAChapter 7: Political Attitudes and Trust in the EPAChapter 8: Issue-Specific Attitudes and Trust in the EPAChapter 9: ConclusionAppendix A: The Energy Policy Survey Instrument

Across the Western world we have witnessed an erosion of trust in public institutions over the past decade. Against this daunting backdrop, Scott E. Robinson, James W. Stoutenborough, and Arnold Vedlitz challenge us to embrace a much more nuanced world view where the reputation of government agencies can diverge from a general path of low trust and decline. They do so in a convincing manner, by introducing experimental and observational data that is explored with clear theoretical predictions derived from public administration, political science, and psychology. - Asmus Leth Olsen, University of Copenhagen