Trust and Religion: Experimental Evidence from Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Trust is measured using both survey questions and a trust experiment among a random sample of Muslim and Hindu household heads in rural Bangladesh. We found no significant effect of the social distance between Hindus and Muslims in the trust experiment in terms of the proportions sent or returned. However, the survey responses do indicate significant differences. Both Hindus and Muslims were found to trust others from their own religion more than they trust people from other religions. Moreover, Hindus, the minority, trust other people less in general, and Hindus trust Muslims more than Muslims trust Hindus.