Dr. Samantha Mosier presents her research (co-authored with Megan Ruxton), “Trust Issues: U.S. Public Preferences for Entities to Protect the Environment,” at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting in Washington (Sept 2019).
Abstract: “This paper examines which institutions and entities the U.S. general public trusts to protect the environment. Using data from the Natural Marketing Institute 2016 LOHAS survey, we evaluate which institutions and entities are identified by 1,022 respondents as trustworthy to protect the environment (broadly defined). The results suggest there is not a singular institution or entity that is overwhelmingly trusted by the public to protect the environment. Indeed, a significant portion of the population (25%) trusts no one to protect the environment. Level of education is the most consistent explanatory factor for what influences trust. Higher educational achievement is associated with lower levels of trust. Additional, race and regional location also provide keen insights for variation in trust levels.”