Do Beliefs Build States? How Trust in Institutions Shapes Real-World Action
Professor Michael Callen, Inclusion Economics' Scientific Director for Nepal, presents findings from his research across South Asia, focusing on the relationship between institutional perceptions and state capacity in fragile and transitioning democracies, in a CID Speaker Series event.
How do fragile democracies build lasting institutions—and what role do beliefs play in that process?
Michael Callen, Associate Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, has spent years studying how political institutions take shape in post-conflict and developing states. In this talk, he shares new research from a nationwide field experiment in Nepal, where over 4,000 local leaders were exposed to new information about the country's political stability and inclusion—and then asked to engage in a real task that supports state-building.
The results offer rare causal evidence that trust in political systems—beliefs about whether institutions are fair, stable, and representative—can shape whether people actually invest in strengthening them. The findings raise important questions for future policymakers: What happens when people lose faith in the state? And what can be done to build—or rebuild—that trust?