Mechanisms of trust for different modes of welfare service provision

Welfare services are an important channel for building institutional trust. But does it matter if the service is publicly or privately provided? Using SEM on individual data from public and private schools in Sweden, the authors test how the provision mode moderates the effects of positive and negative school experiences on trust in government. The results show that students’ perceptions of teacher fairness are dependent on provision mode. Negative experiences are associated with decreased trust in government only in private schools. Positive experiences didn’t affect trust. Thus, the use of private providers may provide greater challenges for maintaining institutional trust