Trust: how and why Danes have the highest trust levels in the world

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, citizens' trust in their governments has declined all across Europe, and around the world.

Denmark, however, stands out as a country where trust levels have increased.

But why?

This is the topic of this week's episode + an exploration into the country's remarkable high levels of trust between people.

We discuss:

• The game theory of strangers trusting other people
• The historical roots of Denmark's strong independent institutions
• What "default trust" feels like to outsiders
• How other countries can encourage trust amongst citizens
• The upsides of trust: efficiency, oxytocin
• The downsides of trust:; how to combat it

and more broadly an exploration of "the trust dividend" that is felt from a society where the default setting is to trust one another.

In this episode we spoke with three excellent guests

• Peter Mühlmann, CEO of Trustpilot
• Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, Professor of Political Science at Aarhus University
• Kathy Borys Siddiqui, a Polish/ American expat in Denmark for the past 13 years and founder of Active Action

Note that the image is of a roadside stand on the Danish island of Bornholm where members of the public are trusted to pay for the items available. (Sam took the pic whilst on holiday there last year)

Thanks to ECO Hotels for hosting us at Guldsmeden Hotel in Copenhagen.

Learn more about What The Denmark via: www.whatthedenmark.com and @whatthedenmark on Instagram