The unique relationship between quality of life and consumer trust in market-related institutions among financially constrained consumers in a developing country

This study focuses on how relationships among constructs representing (1) consumer trust in marketrelated institutions (CTMRI), (2) distrust for individuals (DFI), and (3) subjective quality of life (QOL) differ across groups separated by the poverty line in a developing country (Turkey). A comparison of models across the two groups using multisample confirmatory factor analysis indicates that there is a correlation only between CTMRI and QOL for consumers below the poverty line (r =.43); there are no correlations between any of the three constructs for consumers above the poverty line. Accordingly, there is a unique relationship between QOL and CTMRI among financially constrained consumers in a developing country. Below the poverty line, consumers with lower trust in market-related institutions tend to report lower QOL, while those with higher trust in market-related institutions tend to report higher QOL.