Copyright © Donald F. Kettl 2017
The right of Donald F. Kettl to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2017 by Polity Press
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ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-2245-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-2246-0 (paperback)
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1.1 Trust in institutions
1.2 Public trust in government
1.3 Confidence in national government
1.4 Confidence in national government: change from 2007 to 2014
2.1 Confidence in national parliaments (2015)
2.2 Confidence in national parliaments: percentage change, 2004–2015
2.3 Confidence in American institutions
3.1 Social trust and income inequality
3.2 Trust in others by gender, age, education, and income
4.1 US: weekly earnings of full-time workers aged 16 and older, by percentile
4.2 Income inequality: before and after taxes and transfers
4.3 Effect of age on support for Brexit/Leave and for Trump
2.1 Confidence in American national institutions
An author wrestling with a puzzle as complex and long-lasting as trust in government requires a great deal of help. The basic issues go back a very long way; newer problems spill out daily. Pulling them all together into a single, short book is a daunting task. I want to thank Polity's editor, Louise Knight, who first inspired me to tackle this topic. Her insights into the things most worth doing were truly invaluable, and her enthusiastic support along the way has been inspiring. Nekane Tanaka Galdos, assistant editor at Polity, provided wonderful support at every step on the way. I'm also deeply appreciative of Leigh Mueller, whose keen skill as a copy-editor unquestionably made the book sharper and clearer.
In refining the book's arguments, I'm indebted to the reviewers for Polity, who were especially careful in their reading and particularly helpful in their recommendations. Let me give my special thanks to Matthew Wright of American University and Jack Citrin at the University of California, Berkeley.
In addition, a greatly valued colleague, John DiIulio of the University of Pennsylvania, provided invaluable suggestions for improving the manuscript.
Finally, I want to thank my wife, Sue, whose own insights into the values that last have been an inspiration to me for the many years I've been lucky enough to have her as my spouse.