Institutions lose public trust because they are too successful, not because they are failing.
April 25, 2026
Original Paper
A Theory of Trust in Institutions
SSRN · 6615940
The Takeaway
People usually assume that trust in government or organizations drops when they perform poorly. This theory suggests that as institutions succeed, they become powerful platforms that insiders start to use for their own goals. This elite drift leads to the institution doing things it was never intended to do, which alienates the public. The more influential an organization becomes, the more it attracts people who want to steer it away from its original mission. Success creates the very conditions that make the public stop believing in the institution's integrity.
From the abstract
We identify a structural source of declining trust in major institutions that arises from success rather than failure. Institutions build trust by adhering to a mandate, but that trust transforms institutions into platforms that amplify insiders' influence regardless of what they do. This amplification endogenously activates non-mandated activity at the margin, causing trust to decline as institutions become more influential. We refer to this mechanism as elite drift. Increasing effort in the ma