We consider the concept of poverty from the asset-accumulation approach and propose an integrated framework, building upon existing theories, to describe how the interconnected factors of trust (or lack thereof) and social distance can reinforce poverty traps. Social distance is influenced by choice, while trust is the symptom that defines the strength of social ties on a group. We look at how an absence of trust influences how households make decisions about the use and accumulation of assets in ways that could perpetuate poverty. Weak trust also affects how groups interact with each other in a society, creating “trust clusters” within homogeneous groups and antagonism across groups, which in turn affects aspirations and leads to an erosion of the basis of a social contract. For more effective and sustainable poverty reduction, we need to understand these linkages and address them systematically.

中文翻译：

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贫困、信任和社交距离：自我强化的“贫困陷阱”？

我们从资产积累的角度考虑贫困的概念，并在现有理论的基础上提出一个综合框架，来描述信任（或缺乏信任）和社会距离的相互关联因素如何加剧贫困陷阱。社会距离受到选择的影响，而信任是定义群体社会关系强度的症状。我们研究缺乏信任如何影响家庭做出资产使用和积累的决策，从而导致贫困永久化。弱信任还会影响社会中群体之间的互动方式，在同质群体内形成“信任集群”，并在群体之间产生对抗，进而影响愿望并导致社会契约基础受到侵蚀。为了更有效和可持续地减贫，我们需要了解这些联系并系统地解决它们。