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Does Ethnic Diversity Erode Trust? Putnam’s ‘Hunkering Down’ Thesis Reconsidered

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2010

Patrick Sturgis ,
Ian Brunton-Smith ,
Sanna Read  and
Nick Allum
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Abstract

We use a multi-level modelling approach to estimate the effect of ethnic diversity on measures of generalized and strategic trust using data from a new survey in Britain with a sample size approaching 25,000 individuals. In addition to the ethnic diversity of neighbourhoods, we incorporate a range of indicators of the socio-economic characteristics of individuals and the areas in which they live. Our results show no effect of ethnic diversity on generalized trust. There is a statistically significant association between diversity and a measure of strategic trust, but in substantive terms, the effect is trivial and dwarfed by the effects of economic deprivation and the social connectedness of individuals.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 57 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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