Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions in Chile

Executive summary

Democracies worldwide are grappling with significant systemic changes, including the green and digital transitions, in a volatile and uncertain environment marked by heightened geo-political tensions and polarisation. In this context, many governments are prioritising building and maintaining trust in public institutions. Low trust environments not only damage social cohesion and political participation, but also limit governments’ ability to function effectively and respond to complex domestic and global challenges. Trust can be fostered by creating responsive institutions that meet people’s expectations and needs, reliably address complex policy issues, and adhere to principles of openness, fairness and integrity.

Since 1990 Chile has benefited from robust democratic institutional settings and sound public policies, leading to consistent economic development and macroeconomic stability. Yet, trust in the government, and public institutions more broadly, has been steadily decreasing since 2010, in line with trends throughout Latin America. This decline is eroding the country’s social fabric and undermining the government’s ability to build consensus for complex policy reforms.

According to the OECD Trust Survey, conducted in November 2023, only one in three Chileans (30%) have high or moderately high trust in the national government and 24% report high or moderately high trust in the civil service, compared to 39% and 45%, on average, respectively, across OECD countries. As in most OECD countries, Chileans place more trust in the police (52%) and local government (36%) than in national government, while political parties (14%) and the Congress (19%) are the least trusted institutions. Levels of trust in the courts and the judicial system deviate the most from the OECD average: just a quarter of Chileans reported high or moderately high trust in justice institutions (25%), 29 percentage points below the OECD average (54%). 

Additionally, perceived socioeconomic and political vulnerabilities play a significant role. People with financial concerns or who fear for their personal security report lower levels of trust. In contrast, trust gaps by gender, age and education are comparatively small in Chile. Crucially, people’s sense of influencing government decisions is a key factor in explaining levels of trust. In Chile, there is a 45-percentage point gap in trust in national government between those who believe people like them have a say in what the government does and those who do not.

The Chilean government is pursuing an ambitious agenda to support the environmental and digital transitions, with reforms in critical areas such as tax, pensions, internal security or decentralisation, and which still face some obstacles to achieve consensus. The Trust Survey finds that, Chileans exhibit greater confidence in their government's ability to tackle decisions on complex issues with trade-off across population groups, such as climate change, and to act with integrity, than their OECD peers. For example, 48% of Chileans are confident that the country will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 42% on average across 30 OECD countries.

At the same time, compared to other OECD countries, Chileans are less satisfied with public services, including their reliability and fairness. Moreover, only 22% of Chileans believe that the political system allows people like them to have a say in what the government does and 35% find it likely that they would have opportunities to voice concerns on local matters. Improving citizens’ perceptions in the day-to-day interactions with public institutions will help strengthening support for government reforms and overcome setbacks.

The main factors that drive citizens’ trust levels in Chile vary by institution and levels of government, suggesting that a range of targeted strategies must be adopted to build trust. The analysis finds that important drivers of trust in the Chilean national government today are the ability to cooperate with stakeholders to address complex challenges, such as climate change, using transparent and verifiable evidence in decision-making, and ensuring all people’s voices are heard. People’s sense of influencing government decision making or being treated fairly when applying for social benefits are relevant drivers for trust in the civil service. Levels of trust in local government are mostly influenced by whether people feel they have opportunities to voice their opinions on local matters and think that the government would balance the interests of different generations. Perceptions of effective checks and balances between branches of government are the only public governance driver which is statistically significant for trust in national and local governments and the civil service, highlighting the relevance of strengthening the rule of law and limiting abuse of power for representative democracy in Chile.

Chile has undertaken this study as part of its State Modernisation Agenda 2022-2026, which includes prioritising public trust as an explicit policy objective, building trustworthy relationships between people and institutions and bringing the State closer to citizens. This report aims to contribute to Chile’s efforts providing an in-depth and evidence-based analysis of the main drivers of trust in public institutions in Chile and identifying opportunities to strengthen it. These opportunities are organised into five areas: 1) improving the quality and responsiveness of public services; 2) strengthening government’s preparedness and ability to address complex policy issues; 3) enhancing communication and engagement between government and the population; 4) reinforcing public integrity and reducing perceptions of corruption; and 5) promoting fairness across public institutions. The table below summarises the main findings and areas of opportunity included in this report.

 

Main findings	Areas of opportunity
Improving the quality and responsiveness of public services and policies (Chapter 3)
Satisfaction with public services is comparatively low in Chile, and unequal among population groups. For instance, 51% of Chileans indicated to be satisfied with public administrative services, compared to 66%, on average, across OECD countries. Fragmented systems could be contributing to low levels of satisfaction as they result in inconsistent and unequal quality services. Results from the OECD Trust Survey in Chile find that increasing satisfaction with the ease of using digital services and the degree to which services meet people’s needs are likely to be the most impactful levers for increasing satisfaction with the overall quality of administrative services.	Establishing a common vision and strategy for public administrative services that promotes an omni-channel and human-centred approach to design and deliver services, as well as incentivises collaboration and integration among public service providers. Enhancing Chile’s Quality Service and User Experience System with specific targets or actions that promote closer attention to vulnerable groups when improving public services.
Courtesy and competence of front-line government servants are the two attributes of public services with the lowest satisfaction among Chileans: 58% indicate satisfaction with the courtesy, as well as with the competence of public officials, which are 13 and 15 percentage points below the OECD average values.	Implementing dedicated service delivery training for front-line civil servants, in particular to improve the interaction and experience of users when accessing services across different channels.
Perceptions of government responsiveness in service delivery are moderately low: 40% of Chileans believe the government would improve public services based on user feedback, and an equal share (39%) considers that innovative ideas would be adopted to improve public services.	Incorporating service design roles and capabilities in public sector institutions to systematise user research within the government and supporting the implementation of the Quality Service and User Experience System. Instituting a single source of information and adopting a more joined-up approach to service delivery. Establishing horizontal collaboration actions between public sector institutions, including the implementation of life events, the horizontal mobility of civil servants and effective mechanisms for sharing best practices and common challenges in service design and delivery. Mainstreaming public sector innovation across government institutions through specific and dedicated roles.
According to the OECD Trust Survey, only 41% of people in Chile believe the government would use their personal data only for legitimate purposes, a share significantly below the OECD average (52%). At the same time, a smaller share of Chileans (37%) believe that the government will draw on the best available evidence, research, and statistical data to make decisions, a significant driver of trust in the national government in Chile.	Developing a data governance framework in the public sector with specific roles and institutional arrangements for effective sharing and use of data for policymaking and service delivery in trusted and legitimate ways. Implementing a communication strategy to transmit government actions to protect and legitimately use personal data in policymaking and service delivery. Establishing formal mechanisms to leverage scientific knowledge in policy decision-making.
Strengthening government’s preparedness and ability to address complex policy issues (Chapter 3)
Perceptions of government’s reliability to address large-scale emergencies are moderate: less than half of Chileans (47%) believe government institutions would be ready to protect people’s lives in case of a large-scale emergency, six percentage points below the OECD average (53%). Perceptions of government’s preparedness for a crisis are particularly low amongst more vulnerable population groups, such as those who expressed financial or personal security concerns, those with lower levels of education or who consider themselves part of a group that is discriminated against.	Strengthening the governance for crisis management to improve co-ordination across levels of government and to incorporate formal feedback loops for a systematic review and update of government crisis management policies. Implementing strategic foresight actions to improve the government’s capacity to anticipate possible crisis scenarios and take preventive actions. Improving public communication during large-scale crises to align different stakeholders and the broader community in the implementation and observance of policy actions. Establishing actions to engage more vulnerable groups and affected communities in preparedness, response and resilience, involving regional and local government authorities.
Chileans are more confident than their OECD peers in their government’s capacity to address complex challenges. Almost one in two Chileans (48%) believes that the government would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow down the impact of climate change. Yet, a lower share (40%) is confident that the government would regulate new technologies adequately and would support people and businesses to use them responsibly, or 41% in the government’s ability to balance intergenerational interests. Further, 45% of Chileans find it likely that the government would coordinate with other national stakeholders, such as business and trade unions, to tackle complex and long-term challenges, which is the most significant driver of trust in the national government	Securing broader consensus and alignment across key stakeholders and sectors for the implementation of ongoing policies and the development of dedicated legal frameworks to regulate use of artificial intelligence, as well as to address more complex long-term challenges, such as climate change or weighting the interests and needs of different generations.
Enhancing communication and engagement between government and population (Chapter 4)
A large majority of Chileans (63%) believe clear information on public administrative procedures is easy to access. In contrast, only 38% of people in Chile believe that the government communicates clearly on how a reform will affect them. The results indicate a potential area of focus for government action, as effective communication of reforms is a significant driver of trust in the national government in Chile.	Continuing to step up Chile’s proactive communication efforts and expanding the audience it reaches. Using plain and clear language to streamline communication and targeting different groups of audiences through identified relevant channels.
While just 28% of Chileans express high to moderately high trust in the news media, 11 percentage points below the OECD average, people's trust in government is partly related to their news consumption habits. For instance, Chileans use of social media (48%) is above the average across OECD countries (33%) and those who keep up with politics or current affairs through social media (33%) tend to trust the national government more than those who do not (26%).	Promoting a healthy, diverse, and independent media environment enhancing opportunities of public scrutiny and informed decision-making, and at the same time investing in evidence-informed approaches to media literacy to foster societal resilience.
Efforts for inclusive engagement in decision-making have shown positive results. Around one in five Chileans (23%) reported participating in public consultations, compared to 10% of people on average across OECD countries, and about half of respondents (47%) reported feeling confident in their own ability to participate in politics, above the OECD cross-national average (40%). Yet, the majority still feel they lack a political voice. Only 22% of Chileans believe they have a say in what the government does, and 36% consider it likely that the government would take their opinions into account if consulted. Most vulnerable population groups feel they have a lower political voice. In line with these results, a large majority of Chileans (84%) believe citizens should vote directly on specific issues while they are more sceptical about institutions of representative democracy and collective action, such as political parties, or civil society organisations.	Bridging the gap between individuals’ confidence in political participation and their expectations of meaningful engagement and influence on decision-making, by: Reinforcing existing initiatives: clearly communicating consultation’s objectives and giving regular feedback to public inputs. Implementing innovative mechanisms to promote participation, such as representative deliberative experiences. Bolstering representation of traditional institutions in representative democracies, such as political parties. Enhancing Chileans' sense of political agency, encouraging student participation or including in schools’ curriculas some form of political or civic activities.
Ensuring people the opportunity to voice their views on decisions affecting their community is the most significant driver of trust in local governments in Chile. Yet, only 35% of Chileans find it likely they would have this opportunity. Further, 44% of Chileans believe that the government would take into consideration regional needs and views when designing national policies. Among those who find it likely that the national government takes into consideration needs and views of regional representatives, 51% report high or moderately high trust in the national government, while only 12% among those who are sceptical of the responsiveness of national government to regional needs.	Reinforcing political voice and trust at the local level by strengthening and furthering the decentralisation agenda, alongside exploring initiatives to open policymaking to citizens inputs at the local level.
Reinforcing public integrity and reducing perceptions of corruption (Chapter 4)
People’s perceptions of public integrity in Chile are generally above the OECD average. About a third of Chileans (36%) believe it likely that a policymaker would refuse a well-paid job in the private sector offered in exchange of a political favour, compared to 31% across the OECD. A similar share (35%) finds it likely that the government would be able to withstand lobbying by a corporation for a policy that could benefit its industry but be harmful to society as a whole, above the 30% on average across OECD countries. Yet, perceptions of integrity of public employees are low in most countries and corruption is reported as one of the most relevant issues the country faces by 32% of Chileans; only a third of Chileans (31%) believe public officials would refuse money to speed up service access, below the OECD average (36%). Further, a third of Chileans (33%) believe that people cannot be trusted by the government to provide accurate information when applying for social benefits or declaring taxes.	Ensuring acknowledgement and implementation of integrity standards at all levels of government. Actively investing in communicating the whole of society, including citizens themselves, about their role and responsibility to uphold integrity. Broadening the scope of the current legal framework on lobbying and influence, by enlarging the definition –of lobbying, thus covering more activities/actors, as in other OECD countries, and strengthening the regime of sanctions
44% of Chileans perceive that the Congress would effectively hold the national government accountable for their policies and behaviour. Perceptions of effective checks and balances between branches of government are the only public governance driver which is statistically significant for trust in all the public institutions under analysis in Chile (national and local governments and civil service). This result highlights the relevance of republican principles and limits to abuse of power for representative democracy in Chile.	Leveraging the decentralisation reform to create more instances of horizontal accountability between national agencies and institutions of regional and central government.
Promoting fairness among public institutions (Chapter 4)
Chileans' perceptions of fairness are the lowest out of the main public governance drivers of trust, and those that show the largest gaps in comparison to OECD averages. Around three in ten Chileans reported being a member of a group that is discriminated against, and only four in ten (39%) think their applications for government benefits or services would be treated fairly or that public officials will treat them equally regardless of their income level, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity or country of origin. Trust in local government is positively influenced by individuals’ perceptions of equitable treatment of service applications.	Collecting and sharing aggregate data on vulnerable across public institutions, which may help to better target policies, increasing efforts to tackle inequalities and vulnerabilities and ensuring fair social and economic treatment of all population groups in political processes and in the interaction with public officials. Ensuring that survey samples are representative of the diversity of the population, by combining socio-economic characteristics, and continue measuring perceptions of different aspects of security (Chapter 2).
Many Chileans are sceptical about the government’s willingness and ability to fairly represent their interests. Below the average across OECD countries, only one in three Chileans (29%) believe that it is likely that the Congress adequately balances the needs of different regions and groups in society, while 49% think it is unlikely. At the same time, a broad majority of Chileans (81%) believe it is important for the government to prioritise providing equal opportunities to everyone.	Continuing to develop initiatives to promote and ensure diverse representation, both in public sector and politics.
People with physical security and economic concerns have consistently lower levels of trust in public institutions. For example, only 23% among those who are concerned about crime in their surroundings report high or moderately high trust in the government, compared to 45% among people who are not concerned about crime. Similarly, 27% of Chileans who anticipate feeling economic and financial concerns over the next two years express high or moderately high trust in the government, compared to 52% of Chileans who do not feel concerned.	Developing policies aimed at mitigating perceived economic vulnerability and discrimination could be crucial in closing the trust gap and fostering trust in public institutions among all population groups. (Chapter 2)