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Trust And Society: The Importance Of Trust In Society

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Introduction
When considering what enables modern-day economies to function properly, trust is a critical mechanism that must be considered. Think about our banks, investment funds, and even charities: we trust all of these institutions to store and manage significant amounts of our money in most cases. We seldom know what is happening to our money behind the veil that covers these organizations; underneath that veil, our money might be traded, loaned away, or used for frivolous means. Yet, over the course of a lifetime, we will still shell out millions of dollars to these groups – no questions asked – all because we feel so confident in these organizations’ abilities to fulfill their promises that we need not even consider the alternative. This is just one case example demonstrating the importance of trust in society. According to UC Berkeley sociology professor Sandra Susan Smith in her 2010 paper Race and Trust, “[T]rust encourages solidarity, cohesion, consensus, and cooperation […], which reduces transaction costs (Putnam 2000) and promotes health (Kawachi et al. 1997), happiness (Rotter 1980, Yamagishi 2001), safety (Sampson & Raudenbush 1999), […] economic prosperity (Fukuyama 1995), and democracy…” (Smith 468) …show more content…
Regardless of whether there is a positive correlation, negative correlation, or no correlation at all, I expect that, through this study, I will gain a stronger understanding of the state of trust within Nigerian agriculture. With this new understanding, I hope to reveal implications that the state of trust has on the future of Nigeria’s economy; such information will be helpful not only for my startup, which has been working in the space for two years now, but also for the millions of Nigerians currently employed in

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