Trust, Information, and Logics of Redistribution in Post-Pandemic Italy

The COVID-19 outbreak has reignited a heated debate in Italy and in Europe about solidarity, deservingness, trust and fairness in allocating resources. Public outcries for compensatory state support have dramatically increased: firms are lobbying for tax exemptions, and workers are demanding additional access to social transfers. As in all economic recessions, this diversity of means the state can potentially employ to aid the failing economy will likely engender distributive conflict in the future. This project investigates two main questions: To what extent does community trust mediate voters’ desire for different state support measures? And, does community trust, and in extension policy preferences, vary in response to information on crisis-time patterns of collective action?