An Empirical Study Of The Influence Of Generalized Trust On Regional Economic

Since the reform and opening up,the China's economy has achieved remarkable development,but the regional economic disparities in China are also expanding..Why are there considerable differences in economic performance between different regions of the same economy? Traditional studies attribute regional economic differences to the factors of production factor allocation,policy,structural change and location,but differences in social capital such as ideas,cultures,and moral performance are also important reasons for regional economic development.As a core factor of social capital,generalized trust has an important impact on economic and social development.Based on the perspective of cultural economics,this paper use the data of China Family Panel Studies to examine generalized trust and regional economic performance issues.Firstly,measure China's regional comprehensive trust index,and initially show the difference of regional trust in China and its relationship with regional economy.Secondly,by constructing the econometric model and using the OLS estimation method,the impact of generalized trust on regional economic performance is empirically analyzed at the prefecture-level sample level.Further,explore the heterogeneous impact of generalized trust on economic performance in different regions.Thirdly,this paper verifies the conduction mechanism through the mediation effect method.The empirical results show that:First,generalized trust has a positive effect on regional economic performance.For every unit of increase in generalized trust,the per capita GDP increased by 19.35%.Compared with the lowest level of trust in the sample,the per capita GDP level of the region with the highest level of generalized trust is nearly 21.26%.A series of robustness tests support our conclusions.Second,the impact of generalized trust on the regional economy There are heterogeneous differences in the regions with different levels of economic development in China.In the eastern and central regions where China's economy is more developed,the economic impact of generalized trust is stronger,and trust can significantly improve the local economic level.In the western region where China's economy is relatively backward,the economic promotion of generalized trust is not significant.Third,as far as the transmission mechanism is concerned,financial institutions with higher levels of generalized trust are more willing to lend to residents,enterprises and even governments,so that a large amount of capital inflows promotes the development of the local economy;at the same time,areas with higher levels of generalized trust With more powerful innovation capabilities,it can drive the development of the regional economy.The above findings link generalized trust with regional economic performance,and the interpretation of the “cultural-economic” system provides a richer and deeper interpretation of regional economic development differences.At the policy suggestion level,first of all,we must strengthen the political system and improve the social integrity system.Second,the government should regulate the financial market lending behavior to ensure the good operation of the lending market.At the same time,it encourages and supports regional innovation,clear up the channels of generalized trust's influence on regional economic development,and exert the role of generalized trust in promoting the regional economy better.