Thread by @GarettJones

When Alex Nowrasteh of the Cato Institute asserts that I'm "confused" about jargon in the trust literature, is he correct?

Of course not. Bayesians, update accordingly.

New post at Heterodox STEM, generously hosted by @DorianAbbot, Uslaner and Keefer cameos.

Short🧵:

In a new response to my Heterodox STEM post, Nowrasteh says "Garett cites older papers that used inconsistent terminology."

But Keefer, a founder of trust+growth regressions, uses interpersonal trust as a synonym for generalized trust in 2022 and 2025.

I like being ecumenical about definitions whenever possible. Academic jargon varies by field, even subfield.

Just look at how macroeconomists and finance experts use the same word: Investment.

But when someone claims I'm "confused," it's valuable to respond.

A quote from my piece:
--
First, let’s start with Eric Uslaner... 6600 [cites]... Uslaner writes:

The interpersonal trust question that has been so important in much research on social capital does reflect generalized trust.

I could just stop right there but let’s continue..

At the end of my latest essay at Heterodox STEM, hosted by @dorianabbot, I focus on works by economists, Knack, Keefer, & Zak.

These are classic papers in the macro+trust field; note that above, Keefer used interpersonal trust as a synonym for generalized trust in 2022 & 2025.

In TCT, I cover the trust literature in part because, as I wrote, "so many people have studied the topic of immigrant trust... the tires have been kicked for years... [B]ut trust isn't the only thing that matters for prosperity."

Yes, 2nd gen culture transplants abound:

~fin~

open.substack.com/pub/hxstem/p/d…