The micro–macro interactive approach to political trust: Quality of representation and substantive representation across Europe

The relevance of the macro-context for understanding political trust has been widely studied in recent decades, with increasing attention paid to micro–macro level interactive relationships. Most these studies rely on theorising about evaluation based quality representation, stressing that more-educated citizens are most trusting politics countries least corrupt public domains. In our internationally comparative study, we add approach by and testing an additional way which national context is associated individual-level trust, namely substantive representation. both types tested modelling not only macro-level corruption but also indicators ideological stances governing cabinet (i.e., its economic egalitarianism cultural liberalism), interacting education, liberalism, respectively. As measure characteristics separately from people's preferences, able dissect how relates levels different subgroups differently. Data three waves (2006, 2010, 2014) European Social Survey (68,294 respondents 24 62 country-year combinations), enriched country-level data derived various sources, including Chapel Hill Expert Survey, used multi-level regression analyses employed test hypotheses. We found support interactions theorised representation (with higher among less countries), as well relation issues more culturally liberal cabinets). Our findings indicate latter at equally relevant conventionally explain differences trust. Finally, conclude study a discussion avenues future research.