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dc.titleBuilding Trust in State Actors: A Multi-Site Experiment with the Colombian National Police
dc.contributor.authorAbril, Verónica
dc.contributor.authorNorza, Ervyn
dc.contributor.authorPerez-Vincent, Santiago M.
dc.contributor.authorTobón, Santiago
dc.contributor.authorWeintraub, Michael
dc.contributor.orgunitInstitutional Capacity of the State Division
dc.coverageColombia
dc.coverageSouth America
dc.coverageLatin America and the Caribbean
dc.date.available2023-09-08T00:09:00
dc.date.issue2023-09-08T00:09:00
dc.description.abstractLow trust in state actors constrains state capacity, hindering growth and development. This paper studies how state actors can build public trust by improving the quality of their interactions with citizens. We first propose a mechanism linking improved interactions to public trust, defined as the belief that the state actor implements welfare-enhancing policies. Improved interactions lower the expected burden of engaging with the state actor, promoting compliance. This motivates citizens to believe compliance is worthwhile, increasing trust in the state actor. We then empirically assess the relationship between the quality of interactions and public trust in the Colombian National Police. We experimentally evaluate an intervention that retrains officers across five major cities in procedural justice principles such as fairness and respect while intensifying police-citizen interactions. The intervention was purposefully designed to be low-cost in terms of financial and human resources. We find that the intervention improved public trust, willingness-to-pay for police services, and citizens perceptions of fair treatment, suggesting low-cost interventions can help build trust between police and communities. We also find a limited impact on officers trust in citizens and their beliefs about citizens public trust, implying that institutional culture change may require more profound efforts.
dc.format.extent61
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0005121
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Building-Trust-in-State-Actors-A-Multi-Site-Experiment-with-the-Colombian-National-Police.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectGovernance
dc.subjectTrust
dc.subjectPolice Corruption
dc.subjectPolice Force
dc.subjectCitizen Security and Crime Prevention
dc.subjectJustice Administration
dc.subjectPolice Officer
dc.subjectCrime and Violence
dc.subjectEconomy
dc.subjectfAIr LAC
dc.subject.jelcodeK42 - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
dc.subject.jelcodeH11 - Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government
dc.subject.jelcodeH56 - National Security and War
dc.subject.jelcodeN46 - Latin America • Caribbean
dc.subject.jelcodeC93 - Field Experiments
dc.subject.keywordsState capacity;police;Trust;procedural justice;Crime;Colombia
dc.typeTechnical Notes
idb.identifier.pubnumberIDB-TN-02790
idb.operationRG-E1740
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