Interethnic Trust Asymmetries and Immigrant Integration

• Applicant: Dr. Conrad Ziller
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research ; Political Science
• Term: from 2017 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 397233023

Generalized social trust is a central research topic in the social sciences, not least because it is associated with a number of positive societal outcomes. Immigrants and members of ethnic minorities typically hold lower levels of social trust than majority members because they possess fewer socioeconomic resources and have a higher risk of being discriminated against. Previous research on group-related trust differences has largely focused on individual factors as explanatory factors. Questions related to contextual explanatory factors as well as the implications of group-related trust differences for the integration of immigrants have not been systematically addressed so far. The proposed project examines social trust of immigrants in Europe and particularly focuses on group-related trust differences between the majority populations and immigrants, henceforth referred to as interethnic trust asymmetries. The following two research questions guide the investigation: 1. To what extent affect economic conditions and residential ethnic segregation interethnic trust differences? 2. How do interethnic trust asymmetries affect integration outcomes of immigrants as well as intergroup relations? As data sources, the project uses available survey data from the European Social Survey (ESS 2002-2014) and the Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study (NELLS, 2009 and 2013). The survey data will be combined with local and regional macro data and analyzed employing regression analysis, in particular multilevel analysis. The results highlight causes and consequences of group-related differences in social trust, which, in addition to a contribution to the integration literature, also yields social and political relevance.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants