Profiling trust: An empirical analysis

We conduct an empirical study in an educative community in Mexico City. Our objective is to identify which are the profiles (individuals’ set of observable characteristics) that people in our sample consider more trustworthy. We also analyze how these perceptions of trustworthiness are matched by the responses and characteristics of individuals upon whom trust was deposited (reciprocity). Our results indicate that age and social proximity are regarded as good signals of trustworthiness by the individuals in the sample. However, reciprocity decisions are determined by education, risk aversion, and the individuals’ expectations about how much other individuals will trust them. Even considering that there would be some element of error in the individuals’ perceptions, we observe that there is no intersection between the characteristics that individuals perceive as the best components of a trustworthy profile and the characteristics that determine reciprocity decisions.