Government trust in citizen and participatory policymaking for ease of doing business

In the context of governance, trust involves complex interactions between the government and its citizens. However, building this trust faces significant challenges worldwide, as public trust in government has been steadily declining for decades. To foster trust, it is important to involve citizens more actively in policymaking, creating a sense of mutual trust between the two actors. Nevertheless, the existing research on trust is saturated with examinations of citizen trust in government, whereas the theme of government trust in citizens is understudied. Moreover, while developing trust is essential, the relationship between trust and participation in policymaking is not entirely clear. Additionally, trust can be influenced by the specific circumstances in which it is built. This study aims to examine the relationship between citizen trust and government trust, as well as the impact of government trust on participatory policymaking. It addresses two main questions: (1) What is the relationship between citizen trust and government trust? (2) How does government trust in citizens affect participatory policymaking? A mixed-methods approach is conducted, combining quantitative and qualitative data gathered through surveys, interviews, and secondary data collection. In answering the research questions, this study takes Indonesian provinces as the research locus. Quantitative data analysis indicates a weak correlation between public trust and government trust, leading to the rejection of the first hypothesis, which proposed a strong and positive correlation between these variables. This finding challenges previous studies that suggested a mutual trust relationship between the government and citizens. In contrast, the analysis reveals a strong correlation between government trust and participatory policymaking, resulting in the acceptance of the second hypothesis. However, there is a significant lack of institutional structures to promote citizen participation in policymaking, particularly in the business sector. While public trust plays a crucial role in fostering a positive business climate, government trust and participatory policymaking have minimal impact on the overall business environment. This study also suggests that the social, political, and economic context plays a significant role in the trust between governments and citizens. The findings confirm that trust is highly contextual. Various factors, such as primordialism, a patronage-based culture, political dynasties, a heterogeneous society, impersonality, and the dual roles of sultan and governor, contribute to building or undermining government-citizen trust in different ways.