Part of the Solution or Cogs in the System? : The Origins and Consequences of Trust in Public Administrators

Abstract

This article examines how individual characteristics and attitudes affect public trust in public administrators. Using data from the 1996 General Social Survey (n = 401), it shows that trust is closely linked to respondents' perceptions of government performance, as well as their confidence in particular institutions such as Congress and the executive branch. These results imply that even though administrators are relatively detached from the more visible aspects of electoral politics, they are included in citizens' broad assessments of the governmental system. The paper concludes by discussing implications of this analysis for theory and practice.