Trust is defined as a person’s belief that another person or institution will act consistently with their expectations of positive behaviour. Trust in government is a multidimensional concept that provides a general measure of how people perceive the performance and values of public institutions in democratic countries (OECD, 2022; Brezzi et al., 2021). Trust in each other and toward public institutions can enhance social cohesion, nurture political engagement and fuel economic growth both directly, by reducing transaction costs, and indirectly by, for example, creating a reliable environment for investment (OECD, 2022; Keefer and Scartascini 2022; Brezzi et al., 2021). Conversely, lack of trust was found, for instance, to reduce collaboration and innovation inside private and public sector organisations. As such, it is important for countries to understand what drives trust in public institutions (OECD, 2022). Despite a general lack of sound data on the drivers of trust in public institutions in Latin America, recent research by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) finds that people’s trust in government and government resilience in the face of crises could both be positively affected by making it clearer what citizens can expect from governments, public sector reforms that enable governments to keep their promises, and institutional reforms that strengthen the commitments that citizens make to each other (Keefer and Scartascini, 2022).

Public services such as hospitals, schools and courts affect the lives of many and serve as points where people interact with public institutions and government. Satisfaction is a widely used indicator to gauge public sector performance from the citizen’s or user’s perspective. The term may encompass a range of different aspects of the services – such as access, responsiveness and quality (Baredes, 2022). Satisfaction with public services also influences trust in government and in the civil service (OECD 2022). Moreover, well-functioning public services improve productivity by providing essential education and healthcare, as well as a sound judicial system, all of which drive economic growth.

A fundamental element of democracy is the principle that people are free to express opinions and have equal opportunities to be represented in government decision making. People who feel they can influence political processes are more likely to participate in civic life through voting, or by engaging with politicians and political parties. Political efficacy refers to individuals’ feeling that they can participate in and influence political processes. People who feel they have no political voice are less likely to comply with laws and regulations, and more likely to engage in protests such as boycotts, or to exit the democratic process entirely by not engaging or abstaining from voting (Prats and Meunier, 2021). For this reason, political efficacy plays a key role in reinforcing democratic institutions by promoting active citizenship and motivating people to engage in democratic processes.