This study targets to examine the factors which influence trust in individual institution to increase social trust through institutions. In knowledge-based society, economic factors are not the only things that influence competition between nations bu...
This study targets to examine the factors which influence trust in individual institution to increase social trust through institutions. In knowledge-based society, economic factors are not the only things that influence competition between nations but immaterial intangible capital influences even greater unlike the past.
According to the data from the World Bank(2006), 80 % of the national wealth consist of intangible capital in advanced nations. An importance of the trust, one of the representative intangible capital is being strengthened as a unification mechanism which promotes cooperation between peoples.
But, Korea is being evaluated as a representative low-trust nation, and low trust in public institution is blamed for the main causes. Under a low trust in public institution, rules of law and policy compliance can't be carried out resulting in a lowering of policy effects.
As long as there isn't any mutual trust, an expansion of trust between peoples is unexpectable. In spite of such importance of the trust in institution, not a full discussion on it has been started yet within the country. This study inquired into the factors that have effects on the trust in individual institution as part of institution-centered trust increase. For the inquiry, the national pension system was chosen as an example, to which the entire nation is subjects, which needs subscribers' active participation and cooperation, the very matters that require preferential trust increase in institution.
This study has those purpose as followings. First, examines the factors that have influences on trust in the national pension system focussing the subject to the trust. It's because a characteristics of the subjects to a trust has the strongest influence on the trust in institution, and an importance of trust relies on the possibility of the subject to be turned into a trustworthy being. Second, organized trust in institution, a dependent variable with positive expectation and will to accept vulnerable point for the characteristics of the subjects to a trust to figure out whether the concept organization is significant, or those influential factors influence on the dependent variable differently. And it seemed enable a comparison of institutional factors and the person administrating the institutional factors in consequence level to be conducted. Third, looked into whether the trust level in institution is different by the insurant group. Because if insurant groups show discriminated factors affecting trust and trust level, a more detailed approach is necessary for a rise of trust.
To approach to a very abstract issue, trust in institution, classified institution firstly into formal/informal institutions, and then drew out public institution from formal institution. Previous document based studies showed an attention-getting fact that a characteristic of the subject to a trust is the greatest factor affecting trust. Drew out rationality factors and morality factors as the basis of trust with a belief that a subject to a trust should be materialized reflecting such trust basis to be influential on trust.
Extracted rationality factors and morality factors from institutions and institution administrator discriminately as the public institution consist of a institution, a rule system, and institution administrator. As a morality is stipulated by an individual deed, approached to institutions as a normative matter.
Regarding institutional factors, drew out institutional security as a rationality matter, and social equality as a normative matter and added individual equality which should be considered in the course of achieving social equality. Regarding the persons administrating institution, extracted their efficiencies as a rationality matter, and their morality as a morality matter, and then to the institution administrators, added publicity factors influential for recognizing the characteristics of the subject to a trust.
900 national pension insurants in Seoul, Gyeonggi areas were selected for an empirical study by types(insurant in workplace, insurant in the local area, insurants excepted from contribution payment) for the questionnaire. As the population in Seoul and Gyeonggi area amounts to about 50 % of the whole nation, the two areas were worthy to secure representative. EFA, correlation analysis, ANOVA, multicollinearity test(SPSS 12.0) were conducted, and path analysis was carried out with Amos 7.0 for hypothesis testing. The analysis extracted the conclusion as follows.
First, to make clear the concept of trust in institution, a dependent variable, divided trust into recognition dimension and behavior intention dimension and included those followings of optimistic expectation and intention to accept vulnerability for institutional characteristics out of each dimension as the constituent factors and then measured. And the results of the analysis on two trust factors, expectable trust and behavior intented trust divided from constituent factors showed a clear difference between them. And the factors influencing them also showed difference. Regarding total effect, the characteristics of the person administrating institutions appeared as following. In expectable trust, publicity(β=0.473) and morality(β=0.443) appeared a high level, but in behavior intended trust, security (β=0.435)appeared as the highest level.
Second, the security, property of institution appeared to have not much influence (β=0.186)on expectable trust, but have the strongest influence on behavior intended trust.
Third, morality and efficiency appeared to have both direct and indirect effects on expectable trust indicating they are powerful forecaster for trust. Especially, morality appeared to be the greatest factor on insurants in workplace and insurants excepted from contribution payment in expectable trust. In behavior intended trust, it appeared to have only indirect effect but still powerful one.
Fourth, publicity appeared to be important variable largely influencing both dependent variables (expectable trust : the entire groups β=0.473, insurants in workplace β=0.399, insurants in the local area β=0.544, insurants excepted from contribution payment β=0.467, behavior intended trust: the entire groups β=0.374, insurants in workplace β=0.381, insurants in the local area β=0.405, insurants excepted from contribution payment β=0.335). Especially, in expectable trust, publicity was most powerful factor which has considerably stronger effect on insurants in the local area β=0.544 compared with other groups.
Fifth, in spite of controversial equality about the system, the individual recognition of the equality wasn't significantly influential in general, and the influence of social equality also wasn't particular compared with other factors. The result tells that a follow-up study is necessary from the view that a serious issue on equality between insurants has been drawn out currently.
Sixth, my assertion that the institution itself would be greater than the person administrating it in influencing the trust in institution hasn't been approved as a clear result. Regarding direct effect, publicity factor has influence stronger than that of institutional factor, but institutional factor has stronger influence on behavior intended trust. But in comparison of total influence, the factor of institution administrator is a lot higher in expectable trust, and security is the highest in behavior intended trust and than it's not quite possible to meature simply their level.
Seventh, the influence level between influence factors for the trust in institution appeared differently according to the group which belong to each type of the national pension. Particularly, specific factors influenced differently on expectable trust and behavior intended trust which are dependent variables, requiring a deep discussion on characteristics of each and suggesting a necessity of a policy-based discriminated approach.
Eighth, the comparison of insurants in workplaces / in the local area and insurants excepted from contribution payment with the mean value of the independent variable showed not much significant difference between the groups for morality, but for the recognition of efficiency, security, publicity, the insurants excepted from contribution payment showed high level compared with the insurants in workplaces / in the local area. Insurants excepted from contribution payment showed recognition higher than that of insurants in the workplace only for the individual equality and social equality, Male insurants that excepted from contribution payment are those in a temporary unemployed state including students or persons in the army. Accordingly, they have income level lower than that of insurants in workplaces / in the local area and are in unemployed state in most cases.
And yet, their mean value appeared to be a high level even if it's below 3 points, it's still relatively high compared with insurants in workplaces / in the local area and the cause needs to be checked up.
The policy implication of such results are as follows. First, in spite of a trust in the national pension system has been a serious issue, almost no study has been conducted based on previous studies on trust. In most cases, issues were enumerated and formulas for the issues were given perfunctorily. This study conducted a concrete and substantial examination of the influence factors by examining the factors that practically affecting the trust in the national pension factors.
Second, the issue on security for the trust in institution, that is, worries over financial sector and of security for the aged were detected as the matters still important. But at the same time, I found out the fact that those worries caused by some inappropriate recognition of the institution and it is known differently from its real being rather than by the problem of the institution itself. Thus, the thing needs for security procurement is an effort to notify the institution properly and communicate about it more than an effort to reform it for the betterment. Besides, for the success of the system, social value like social equality or solidarity should be focussed prior to individual interest.
Third, the gap between attitude and behavior, recognition and behaviour were disclosed by classifying the trust in institution into expectable trust and behaviour intended trust, and then examining the difference in influence factors. Regarding the recognition, though a value of institution administrator acts as the influence factors, people are rational beings as much as preferentially to consider an economical interest which affect themselves just before put things into action. But that's not pleasant fact for me in position of studying social capital, especially trust. As the national pension system is the institution based on social equality, a series behaviour of joining it, offering accurate income information which could be disadvantageous acts for themselves is possible in the nations which have people and social capital of higher level. If a social safety net for the old aged and poverty is secured, the level of consciousness and behaviour to take care of neighbors would be lifted. And it the part needs national dimension effort.
On the other hand, there is another matter over which we are forced to consider that we should act following the recognition that tell us what is right under the condition of daily worry over economic crisis, and under the condition that there exist people who earn wrongful income making ill use of institution, Consequently, an effort to procure security for trust increase in institution, an effort to improve the inequality that insurants think as problematic matter should also be required. That is, if insurants' income are detected clearly and the premiums are fixed to the income level and enforced, the discontents of the insurants over the institution would be reduced that much.