Do you trust your policymakers? Effects of competence- and integrity-based trust on perceptions of sustainable food policies in Chile and Germany

In the global quest for containment of the climate crisis, government incentives and measures play an important role to promote consumers' preferences for sustainable products. For policies to be effective, achieving public acceptance is particularly relevant. In this context, it is important to understand how different forms of trust in political institutions relate to perceptions of policy acceptance and effectiveness, and how these interact with different types of policies and cultural contexts. Against this backdrop, in an online experiment with a 2x2 design, we manipulated participants' perceptions of competence- and integrity-based trust in an expert commission appointed by the national government to design sustainable food policies in Germany ( N = 249) and Chile ( N = 203). Effects on the acceptance and perceived effectiveness of market-based (introduction of a new tax) and information-based (holistic label) sustainable food policies were measured. Descriptive results suggest that in Germany, information-based policies were believed to be more effective than market-based policies, while in Chile, the reverse was true. Exploratory results of multiple regression analyses further indicate that integrity-based trust compared to competence-based trust was a significant predictor for perceived policy effectiveness in both countries and for policy acceptance in Germany. In contrast, competence-based trust seems to be crucial for policy acceptance in Chile. No clear differential patterns emerged in function of policy type. Overall, the present study yields important points of departure for the design of effective policy making, giving importance to people's support in pursuing a consistent climate change strategy. • Trust types differently affect views on sustainable food policies in Chile & Germany. •Integrity trust shapes acceptance in Germany and effectiveness in both countries. •Competence trust plays a role for policy acceptance in the Chilean context. •These patterns seem to emerge across information- and market-based policies. •Policy design should consider trust dynamics to boost acceptance and effectiveness.