Trust and Social Inclusion in Asian Societies - the Result of the First Wave Sqsq Survey

Using data from surveys on ‘‘social quality survey questionnaires’’ carried out in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea between 2009 and 2011, this study investigates the relationship between trust and social inclusion. The data analysis of 4,807 questionnaires reveals that trust (the general trust, the interpersonal trust and the institutional trust) are linked to the extent of social inclusion people evaluates. Specifically, people always trust others report higher social inclusion. Trust in informal organizations (NGOs, universities, etc.) and trust in democratic systems (government, judiciary, police, etc.) are more closely related to social inclusion than trust in media, strangers or intimate relations (family, friends, neighbors).