Measuring the impact of Covid-19 on political trust

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected trust in politics among citizens? Drawing on a unique survey of young people in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, Anna Bottasso, Gianluca Cerruti and Maurizio Conti demonstrate that political trust during the pandemic has been influenced by previous perceptions about the efficiency of local institutions. Regions that were perceived to have high quality institutions experienced an increase of 9% in political trust levels compared to regions with low quality institutions.