Perspectives on Business and Economics.Vol41

29 MARTINDALE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE sible. First, institutional elites and political leaders should encourage an expansion of Danes’ circle of trust. Researchers at Stanford have shown that exposing Republicans to videos showing Republican elites affirming the legitimacy of the 2020 election increased the extent to which the ordinary Republicans perceived the 2020 election as legitimate. Exposure to such elite signaling also increased trust in the American electoral process (Clayton & Willer, 2021). Fortunately, Denmark’s political system is much less polarized; hence, its leaders may have more influence over the citizenry. Therefore, Danish leaders publicly encouraging an expansion of trust to expatriates and immigrants, while simultaneously condemning anti-immigrant sentiment in their country, might positively shift attitudes. Second, Denmark should include racial, ethnic, and religious minority representation in future public service contracts. This is not a radical policy; current public service contracts already have explicitly ordered more representation of disabled people (Santon Rasmussen et al., 2022). Media representation can positively influence intergroup attitudes. For example, public opinion research in the United States has shown that positive media representation of the LGBTQ community has helped change public opinion toward LGBTQ people and increase support for their rights (Adamczyk & Liao, 2019). In 2004, only 31% of the American population supported samesex marriage. In just 15 years, this figure increased to 61% (Pew Research Center, 2022). There are a host of factors behind this positive attitude shift, but many studies suggest that positive media coverage of LGBTQ individuals played an important role (Johnson, 2012). Given the high levels of trust Danes place in their traditional media institutions compared with Americans, the media may have an even more influential role in ushering positive attitudinal change toward immigrants and may have the ability to do this at a faster rate. Failing to take full advantage of this opportunity means Danish society will only succeed in undercutting its global reputation for egalitarianism. References 1 in 3 Danes believe Denmark is at war with Islam. (2016, July 27). The Local. Adamczyk, A., & Liao, Y. C. (2019). Examining public opinion about LGBTQ-related issues in the United States and across multiple nations. Annual Review of Sociology, 45, 401–423. Adler-Nissen, R., Lehmann, S., & Roepstorff, A. (2021, November 14). Denmark’s hard lessons about trust and the pandemic. The New York Times. Andreasson, U. (2017). Trust–the Nordic gold. Nordic Council of Ministers. Baekkeskov, E., Rubin, O., & Öberg, P. (2021). Monotonous or pluralistic public discourse? Reason-giving and dissent in Denmark’s and Sweden’s early 2020 COVID-19 responses. Journal of European Public Policy, 28(8), 1321–1343. Behsudi, A. (2022, February 2). Denmark’s social trust in action. International Monetary Fund. Bengtsson, M., Hansen, A. S., Hartley, J. M., Kristensen, J. B., Mayerhöffer, E., & Ramsland, T. G. B. (2021). Conspiracy theories during Covid 19: The case of Denmark. Roskilde University. Bjørnskov, C. (2006). The determinants of trust (Ratio Working Paper No. 86.). The Ratio Institute. Boesen, U. (2020, March 26). Denmark unplugs the economy. Tax Foundation. Boomgaarden, H. G., & Vliegenthart, R. (2009). How news content influences anti-immigration attitudes: Germany, 1993–2005. European Journal of Political Research, 48(4), 516–542. Brenan, M. (2021, October 7). Americans’ trust in media dips to second lowest on record. Gallup. Buttler, M. (2021, June 7). Racism is seen as a growing threat in Denmark, poll shows. Bloomberg. Clayton, K., & Willer, R. (2021). Endorsements from Republican politicians can increase confidence in US elections. Research & Politics, 10(1), 20531680221148967. Dahl, K. M., & Jakobsen, V. (2005). Gender, ethnicity, and barriers for integration. Copenhagen: The Danish National Centre for Social Research. https://www.vive.dk/da/udgivelser/koen-etnicitet-og-barrierer-for-integration-4243/. Eberl, J. M., Meltzer, C. E., Heidenreich, T., Herrero, B., Theorin, N., Lind, F., Berganza, R., Boomgaarden, H. G., Schemer, C. & Strömbäck, J. (2018). The European media discourse on immigration and its effects: A literature review. Annals of the International Communication Association, 42(3), 207–223. Elgin, C., Kose, M. A., Ohnsorge, F., & Yu, S. (2021, September 3). Understanding informality (CEPR Press Discussion Paper No. 16497). Centre for Economic Policy Research. European University Institute. (2022, June 16). European Social Survey (ESS). Fishkin, J. S. (2018). Democracy when the people are thinking: Revitalizing our politics through public deliberation. Oxford University Press. Harrie, E. (2018, June 4). European study: Large divergence in media trust. Nordicom. Hovden, J. F., & Mjelde, H. (2019). Increasingly controversial, cultural, and political: The immigration debate in Scandinavian newspapers 1970–2016. Javnost – The Public, 26(2), 138–157. Hvidtfeldt, C., Jensen, B., & Larsen, C. (2010). [The Danes and the undeclared work]. University Press of Southern Denmark. https://www.universitypress.dk/shop/ danskerne-og-det-2815p.html.

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