Mångfald, tillit och flyktingkris : Social tillit i Sverige åren 2011–2017

Sammanfattning: This paper sets out to examine the correlation between social trust and ethnic heterogeneity. Between the years 2011 and 2015 Sweden experienced a previously unprecedented increase in the number of people applying for asylum. The study uses data from a nationwide survey to measure social trust under the period 2011 to 2017. With basis in previous studies, the essay hypothesises a negative relationship to be found between the two types of social trust examined (local and generalised trust) and the proportion of foreign-born inhabitants in Sweden’s 21 counties. The methodology used is regression analysis with and without fixed county effects. Initial bi- and multivariate regression models present a small negative correlation between social trust and ethnic diversity. However, when a fixed effects model is used the relationship turns positive for local trust and loses all statistical significance for generalised trust. The main conclusion is that ethnic heterogeneity does not seem to affect trust in the short term.