Mediating Effects of Public Trust in Government on National Competitiveness: Evidence from Asian Countries

Abstract

As trust determines success in organizational performance, this study analyzes the impacts of public trust in government on a country’s economic performance as the mediating variable, thereby establishing the exogenous variables interpersonal trust, network, quality of governance, and citizenship. Trust in government is examined as the mediating variable, and economic evaluation as the dependent variable. Employing a structural equation model (SEM) and multi-group analysis, this article investigates the characteristic differences between two sets of two groups: OECD members and non-OECD members, and urban and rural areas. The results of multi-group analysis suggest, first, that the factors affecting public trust in government differ among groups with different social and economic backgrounds. Second, quality of governance positively affects public trust in government with different levels of values. Third, citizenship positively impacts public trust in government. This research extends the methodological perspective to analyze the mediating effects of public trust in government on economic evaluation within multi-group dimensions. This enables us to point out the common and differing attributes among groups while investigating parameters. The results from such an empirically strict approach to discover those effects can contribute to the academic literature.

Jeongmin Oh

Assistant Professor
School of Public and International Affairs

Faculty Fellows
Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy
School of Public and International Affairs

My research interests include Behavioral Public Policy, Administrative Burden and Digital Governance.