Trust and public administration

TLDR

Trust in OECD public sectors is increasingly vital for performance, yet reforms face paradoxes, cultural variation, and differing trust clusters, complicating policy design. The study proposes that incorporating trust regimes can foster both building and maintaining trust in public administration.

Abstract

Within the public sector of OECD countries trust is increasingly becoming a crucial element of performance and for a performing public sector, especially with the current financial crisis. Reform strategies have been driven by agendas to increase trust in the public sector. Three clusters of trust are defined: from society in the public sector (T1), from the public sector in society (T2) and within the public sector (T3). However, there are some paradoxes in these strategies. For example, the New Public Management model is partly based on distrust, in that the public sector expects to be trusted but does not necessarily trust its citizens or other public sector agents. Trust levels are culturally determined and differ significantly within the OECD. This has an implication for public sector reform policies, which are linked to trust regimes. Taking trust regimes into account should contribute to trust building and trust keeping.