Impressionable Years and Trust in Institutions: Microeconomic Evidence from Argentina

Abstract

In this study, we analyse the existence of critical periods in the formation of beliefs and attitudes. We explore the hypothesis of impressionable years (18–25) about having experienced a major macroeconomic crisis and its persistent consequences on trust in institutions. Based on microdata from a recent opinion survey, the regression analysis exploits the differential effect of a major Argentine economic crisis (2001–2002) on different cohorts. We include province fixed effects, age dummies, and other economic and demographic controls. We consider different placebos tests and robustness checks to rule out potential limitations in the estimates. The results suggest that young adults who experienced a major macroeconomic crisis express, almost two decades after the event, a lower trust in political institutions, including the National Congress and the Supreme Court, and a greater perception of corruption among public officials.