Society and relationships · 1 min read
Average trust did not change with social assistance in Kenya
Among informal-economy households, there was no average change. In counties with restrictions, some estimates pointed to greater trust.
The study, in plain language
Financial assistance covers immediate expenses, but the question remains whether it also affects how much people trust and cooperate. The team used repeated national surveys of households linked to Kenya's informal economy, from 2018 and December 2020, before and after the first COVID-19 wave, and compared households with and without social assistance.
On average, the sample showed no change in measures of cohesion. When counties with restrictions were examined separately, some estimates pointed to greater trust in government and greater willingness to cooperate voluntarily. This favorable pattern applied to that subgroup, not all households; other changes during the period may have contributed, so it cannot be attributed to the assistance.
The key idea
Average trust did not change. Some estimates were more favorable in counties with restrictions.
Something to think about
When assistance shows no average change, what differences in context might that average hide? Some counties looked different here, but the study cannot say why.
The original study
Social Protection and Social Cohesion in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Kenya
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
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