Trust and Income Among Immigrants in Europe

Abstract

Social trust, a key cultural trait influencing economic behavior, plays a critical yet understudied role in immigrant integration. This paper examines how trust, both as an individual disposition and as a culturally inherited norm, relates to the economic integration of immigrants in Europe, measured by household income. Using European Social Survey data from 2002 to 2022, we analyze first- and second-generation immigrants, incorporating both individual trust levels and average trust in countries of origin through an epidemiological approach. We find that trust is positively associated with income for both groups, but its source matters: for first-generation immigrants, country-of-origin trust is a stronger predictor, while for the second generation, individual trust dominates. Origin-based trust appears to facilitate labor market navigation for first-generation immigrants, though its influence diminishes over time. In contrast, second-generation immigrants benefit more from institutional familiarity and culturally embedded trust. Given the stability of social trust and its limited responsiveness to policy, the results point to a need for targeted integration strategies for immigrants from low-trust backgrounds.