ABSTRACT
The typical view of trust is that trustworthiness is an attribute that a person perceives in some other person, group, or organization. This chapter considers the essence of trust as a social relationship, building from an influential theory in sociology. It illustrates how agency-specific (j-specific) elements must be included in assessment of trust in government. The chapter builds a theory based on the basic foundations of the Coleman model of trust with the considerations relevant to the environment of assessment for specific agencies. It details such a model, building from the current models of government trust towards the more specific needs of a model of agency trust. There are basic socio-economic factors that contribute to an individual's level of trust in government. This model provides a basis for empirical estimation. A proper model will need to include measures of these components and assess their individual and relative contributions.
