关键词: 收入不平等；信任；投资博弈

Abstract: Over the years, increasing research investigates the relationship between income inequality and trust at macro and micro levels. Prior studies at the macro level often adopt a correlation method, in which income inequality is represented by Gini coefficient or Theil index, and trust is measured in general social surveys, finding that income inequality negatively predicts trust. Other studies at the micro level routinely adopt an experimental method where participants incomes or endowments are manipulated and their trusting behaviors are observed in the subsequent economic game, demonstrating that income inequality decreases trust. Future research at the macro level can explore how the income inequality may predict different kinds of trust and the trust of different groups. Likewise, future research at the micro level should promote the ecological validity of the experiments and explore the psychological mechanisms through which income equality decreases trust.

Key words: income inequality; trust; investment game