Andrea MARTINANGELI – Breaking Negative Narratives in Low Trust Environments

Résumé : Trust in democratic institutions has declined in many countries. We study whether exposure to positive narratives about long-term social progress can increase institutional trust. In a large-scale online experiment in Italy, more than 7,000 adults were randomly exposed to information documenting declines in homicide rates and other improvements in public safety. Exposure to these narratives increased social and institutional trust and donations to a law-enforcement-related organisation. Institutional trust remained higher, after the intervention, in a follow-up study fielded fifty days later. Correction of pessimistic beliefs and institutional attribution of social progress are possible mechanisms.

Andrea F.M. Martinangeli is Associate Professor of Economics at Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas and an affiliated researcher at the University of Oslo. His research in political economy uses experimental and survey methods to examine how inequality and social hierarchies shape beliefs, cooperation, unethical behaviour, and support for redistribution, and how corruption and institutional design affect social and institutional trust, political preferences and antisocial behaviour. Alongside his academic work, he is committed to translating research findings for broader and policy-oriented audiences. He has published policy contributions through VoxEU and participated
in practitioner and policy events organised with institutions including the OECD and Northumbria Police, addressing corruption prevention, institutional trust, police communication, and public engagement.

https://sites.google.com/view/andreamartinangeli/home


Inscription : Marie Pelé (marie.pele@univ-catholille.fr)