Institutional Favoritism, Income, and Political Trust: Evidence from Jordan
In: Comparative politics, Volume 54, Issue 4, p. 741-764
ISSN: 2151-6227
What is the relationship between institutional favoritism, economic well-being, and political trust? Due to the role that East Bank tribes played in supporting the monarchy during the state's formative years, Jordan has institutionalized a type of political discrimination that privileges
East Bank Jordanians over Palestinian Jordanians. An empirical examination of the political institutions of the state reveals that such discrimination remains pervasive. It was subsequently theorized that institutional favoritism's impact on political trust is conditional on income due to
the greater salience of group identity among individuals with lower incomes. Regression analyses of survey data reveal a consistent negative correlation between political trust and income among East Bank Jordanians. There is little evidence of a substantively meaningful unconditional relationship
between national origin and political trust.