Linking socio-economic performance, quality of governance, and trust in the civil service: does culture intercede in the perceived relationships? Evidence from and beyond Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka

Abstract

Several non-OECD countries have relatively low socio-economic performance, poor governance, and a fair amount of corruption among civil servants, yet their citizens report higher trust in the civil services than do citizens in OECD countries. To understand this mismatch, this study provides an explanation, arguing that an authoritarian cultural orientation in some societies can contribute to citizens having relatively high institutional trust despite the poor performance and weak governance of public institutions. Based on country-representative survey data from three South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), the argument is that because of such an orientation, a hierarchical relationship is developed with the authorities which generates natural obedience to them. This, in turn, contributes to their higher level of institutional trust.

Keywords:

• civil service
• culture
• performance
• quality of governance
• trust in civil services
• Bangladesh
• Nepal
• Sri Lanka

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.