Kyklos

Trust and Income Among Immigrants in Europe

Journal Article
Reference
Berggren, Niclas, Erik Enger Karlson and Elis Hodzic (2025). “Trust and Income Among Immigrants in Europe”. Kyklos 78(4), 1496–1513. doi.org/10.1111/kykl.70003

Authors
Niclas Berggren, Erik Enger Karlson, Elis Hodzic

Using ESS data for 2002–22, we show that social trust boosts immigrant household income in Europe. For first-generation immigrants, inherited country-of-origin trust predicts income most strongly; for the second generation, individual trust dominates. Trust aids labor-market navigation, but immigrants from low-trust countries may need targeted policies.