Geoff Upton

Geoff Upton is a Policy Analyst in the Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE). He originally joined the OECD in 2019 as a Policy Analyst working on the Eurasia region, with a specific focus on regional development and decentralisation, before moving to join CFE in 2022. A New Zealand/British national, Geoff holds a master’s degree in Russian & East European Studies from Oxford University, and a bachelor’s degree in French and Russian from Durham University.

Regions of discontent: how to repair territorial divides in government trust

08 September 2022 Geoff Upton

Trust in government is hard won, but easily lost, especially during times of crisis. Trust in government dipped sharply during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and took a decade to recover. But trust can also be worn down over time by long-term trends, such as economic decline.