The Relationship Between Transparency Policies and Public Trust

Abstract

This paper focuses on the multifaceted relationship between transparency policies and the level of trust that people have in their institutions, and how the level of clarity, accessibility, and accountability in government may affect the level of trust in institutions among the citizens.  The results, however, provided quantitative and qualitative data, demonstrate that the higher the levels of trust in the work of the administration are, the more effective the transparency mechanisms, including open data portals, financial disclosures, and participatory reporting.  The statistical analysis showed an increased tendency of the participants who perceived decision-making processes as transparent to follow rules and support communal programs.  Conversely, confidence levels declined where individuals believed that there was superficiality or weakness of transparency even in cases of existence of official policies.  Regression equations confirmed that transparency is a strong predictor of institutional trust though its impact is mitigated by situational factors such as political culture, past lack of trust and effectiveness of enforcing the policies.  Qualitative results also highlighted the importance of citizens to the availability of information as well as its readability, timeliness, and relevance to their lives.  Findings indicate that the concept of openness, when implemented meaningfully but not as a mere symbol, forms a significant component of developing long-term confidence between the governments and the people.