{"title":"Pollution matters: The political cost of information disclosure","authors":"Xing Chen, Xiaoxiao Shen, Andong Zhuge","doi":"10.1111/gove.12847","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study firstly examines the causal effect of environmental information disclosure on political trust and then provides a novel psychological mechanism through which the effect occurred. Exploiting the staggered rolled-out implementation of a national program in China that provides real-time air-pollution information to the public, we find that air pollution adversely moderates the positive effect of information disclosure on political trust. Notably and surprisingly, this “adverse moderation” is concentrated in less polluted areas, where the lack of visible smog led citizens to remain unaware of the actual pollution levels until information is disclosed. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the adverse moderation is more pronounced among urban residents using Internet, an important source for pollution information. Furthermore, we establish that the causal effect operates through the channels of citizens' mental well-being, demonstrated by a large and statistically significant increase in the risk of mild depression due to heightened concern over pollution.</p>","PeriodicalId":48056,"journal":{"name":"Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gove.12847","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"POLITICAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study firstly examines the causal effect of environmental information disclosure on political trust and then provides a novel psychological mechanism through which the effect occurred. Exploiting the staggered rolled-out implementation of a national program in China that provides real-time air-pollution information to the public, we find that air pollution adversely moderates the positive effect of information disclosure on political trust. Notably and surprisingly, this “adverse moderation” is concentrated in less polluted areas, where the lack of visible smog led citizens to remain unaware of the actual pollution levels until information is disclosed. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the adverse moderation is more pronounced among urban residents using Internet, an important source for pollution information. Furthermore, we establish that the causal effect operates through the channels of citizens' mental well-being, demonstrated by a large and statistically significant increase in the risk of mild depression due to heightened concern over pollution.
期刊介绍:
Governance provides a forum for the theoretical and practical discussion of executive politics, public policy, administration, and the organization of the state. Published in association with International Political Science Association''s Research Committee on the Structure & Organization of Government (SOG), it emphasizes peer-reviewed articles that take an international or comparative approach to public policy and administration. All papers, regardless of empirical focus, should have wider theoretical, comparative, or practical significance.