Determinants of public trust in government: empirical evidence from urban China

2015 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dahai Zhao ◽  
Wei Hu
Keyword(s):  
Political Trust ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Citizen Satisfaction ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Public Managers

Several studies suggest that public trust in government in China remains high and without any trend of decline despite the fact that public trust in government has declined dramatically in developed countries. This article analyses public trust in government in contemporary urban China with a comprehensive representative survey and tests the factors associated with public trust in government. Trust in government in China is found to be much lower than previous studies have indicated. Furthermore, the variables of citizen satisfaction with the quality of public services, general democracy, participation in government and the transparency of government are positively associated with public trust in government in China at both the city and central level. In addition, this research also finds that citizens who are younger, more highly educated and well-paid have a lower probability of trust in government in China. These findings suggest that maintaining political trust will be a challenge for the Chinese government. Points for practitioners The findings in this study suggest that public managers and policymakers in China should pay full attention to the challenge posed by maintaining public trust in government, and need to consider formulating specific and feasible measures to enhance public trust based on the determinants of public trust in government. Moreover, in terms of the fact that the determinants that make public trust in government decline in developed countries also affect public trust in government in China, such public managers and policymakers need to strengthen communication with developed countries to improve the handling of the common challenge of maintaining public trust in government.

Who are the Asset-Poor in China: A Comprehensive Description and Policy Implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 765-787
Author(s):  
YUANYUAN YANG ◽  
JUN-HONG CHEN ◽  
MINCHAO JIN
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Income Poverty ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Household Asset ◽  
Asset Poverty

AbstractThere is a large body of literature asserting that household asset holdings play a critical role in prospects of economic and social well-being. This study examines asset-poverty rates in China using the 2013 survey data from the Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP). The results indicate that asset-poverty rates in urban China were lower than those of developed countries, whereas rural and migrant households experienced more serious asset poverty than their counterparts in urban China. In addition, the asset-poverty rates were at least twice the income-poverty rates in China according to the different poverty lines used in the study. Several demographic characteristics were found associated with asset poverty. To assist the Chinese government in reaching its goal of eradicating absolute poverty by 2020 through targeted poverty alleviation, this study suggests including assets in the description and alleviation of poverty.

Deciphering the Dutch drop: ten explanations for decreasing political trust in The Netherlands

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bovens ◽  
Anchrit Wille
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Economic Decline ◽  
Economic Crises ◽  
International Trends

The Netherlands has always been the odd case out regarding trust in public institutions. In the 1980s and 1990s, contrary to international trends, trust in government remained high and even increased. Suddenly, from 2002 onwards, public trust in government declined dramatically. In this article we examine the plausibility of ten explanations, embedded in the international scholarly literature, and explore whether they are empirically supported or rebutted in case of the Dutch drop. We find that because most of the literature concentrates on the cross-national erosion of political support over a long period within Western democracies, explanations tend to focus on gradual, long-term demographic, social, and political trends. Sudden dips in trust levels, however, require different sets of explanatory factors; they are better explained by political or economic contingencies, such as sudden political or economic crises. In the case of the Dutch drop, the most plausible explanation is a combination of an economic decline, combined with high political instability and contestation during the first Balkenende cabinets. As of 2007, with a new cabinet in office, and an economic recovery in place, trust figures are on the rise again. Points for practitioners Sudden dips in public trust in government are better explained by political or economic contingencies, such as political or economic crises, than by a deterioration in government performance or by long-term demographic, social, and political trends. In the case of the sudden drop in trust in The Netherlands, the most plausible explanation is a combination of an economic decline, combined with high political instability and contestation during the first Balkenende cabinets. As of 2007, with a new cabinet in office, and economic recovery in place, trust figures are on the rise again.

Trust in Government and the American Public’s Responsiveness to Rising Inequality

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 790-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
State Level ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Combine Data ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
The Relationship

The United States has become increasingly unequal. Income inequality has risen dramatically since the 1970s, yet public opinion toward redistribution has remained largely unchanged. This is puzzling, given Americans’ professed concern regarding, and knowledge of, rising inequality. I argue that trust in government can help to reconcile this. I combine data on state-level income inequality with survey data from the Cumulative American National Election Studies (CANES) from 1984 to 2016. I find that trust in government conditions the relationship between inequality and redistribution, with higher inequality prompting demand for government redistribution, but only among politically trustful individuals. This holds among conservatives and non-conservatives and among the affluent and non-affluent. These findings underscore the relevance of political trust in shaping attitudes toward inequality and economic redistribution and contribute to our understanding of why American public opinion has not turned in favor of redistribution during an era of rising income inequality.

Exploring Managerial Attitudes Toward Various Participation Mechanisms in Response to Citizen Satisfaction Signals on Public Service Quality

2021 ◽  
pp. 009539972110483
Author(s):  
Youngmin Oh ◽  
Heontae Shin ◽  
Jongsun Park
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Negativity Bias ◽  
Positive Signal ◽  
Citizen Satisfaction ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Participation Mechanisms

This study identifies the impacts of different citizen satisfaction signals (positive/negative) on managers’ agreement to use various participation channels. Citizen satisfaction with public service quality plays an essential role in managers’ accountability expectations. Accordingly, it is crucial to examine how public managers use participation mechanisms, reacting to citizen satisfaction signals on public service quality. The results confirm a negativity bias: Managers are more reactive to citizens’ negative signals than a positive signal in their service quality evaluations. However, the negative signal’s effect does not reach the participation tools, where the degree of their decision-making is highly delegated to citizens.

Consumers’ WTP for certified traceable tea in China

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 1440-1452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolin Liu ◽  
Lingling Xu ◽  
Dian Zhu ◽  
Linhai Wu
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Price Premium ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Payment Card ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Traceability System ◽  
Consumer Organizations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Premium Income ◽  
The Cost

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer attitudes toward and willingness to pay (WTP) for traceability of tea in China. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used the payment card method to elicit WTP for certified traceable tea and logistic regression model to analyze the factors that affected consumers’ WTP. Findings – The results revealed that most consumers in China were concerned over tea safety; however, their WTP for certified traceable tea was limited. Only income and the degree of concern over tea safety affected the consumer’s WTP for certified traceable tea greatly. When it came to consumers’ WTP a positive price premium, income level, education, and attitude toward traceability of tea significantly influenced the actual premium consumers were willing to pay. Practical implications – The Chinese government and tea producers should pay attention when implementing tea traceability system. First, raising the consumers’ income contributes to the premiums that consumers are willing to pay for certified traceable tea. Second, social groups, consumer organizations and tea producers should popularize knowledge of tea traceability. Third, given the low price premiums that consumers are willing to pay, the establishment of viable traceability of tea in China requires the producers and the government to bear some of the cost associated with the implementation of this system. Originality/value – In past studies on WTP for certified traceable food, the study is focussed on meat in developed countries, and the research has expanded range of study, by conducting a survey in China to determine consumers’ WTP for certified traceable tea, and by empirically examining the main factors that influence the willingness of consumers to pay a price premium for certified traceable tea, as well as the premium that these consumers are willing to pay.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Status and COVID-19-Related Psychological Panic in China: The Role of Trust in Government and Authoritarian Personality

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10888
Author(s):  
Xiaona Xie ◽  
Tingting Wu ◽  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Yongyu Guo
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Authoritarian Personality ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic

Although the health and economic risks of COVID-19 may differ for higher- and lower-socioeconomic-status (SES) populations, some studies found that people with lower SES do not necessarily experience more psychological panic. In this research, we examine how SES is related with psychological panic during the COVID-19 pandemic using a large nationwide Chinese sample. Participants were 933 adults (mean age = 30.04, SD = 8.19) who completed an online questionnaire between 11 and 12 February 2020. Lower SES individuals have higher trust in government and thus experience less psychological panic, and the indirect effect of this trust suppresses the direct negative association between SES and psychological panic. In addition to this difference in trust in government between lower- and higher-status individuals, the indirect effect of the trust only exists among people with low (not high) authoritarian personalities. This study provides evidence that political trust may serve as a buffer, suppressing the negative association between SES and psychological panic; thus, policies and actions enhancing political trust are vital to support the mental health of individuals with lower SES during the pandemic, especially for citizens with low authoritarian personalities.

scholarly journals Systematic Review of Public Value

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Sami ◽  
Ahmad Jusoh ◽  
Khalil Md Nor ◽  
Asmara Irfan ◽  
Muhammad Imran Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Public Value ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Public Sector Organizations

Public value is a new and important concept in the field of public administration. A large number of researchers has focused on the concept of public value during the last 10 years or so. This concept gives a new idea of public management with the theme of people’s first approach to facilitate them. Public value creation is the main concern of public managers in today’s public sector organizations. This paper presents a systematic literature review of 413 articles published on the topic of public value in Scopus index journals from 1995 to 2018. A large number of articles on public value shows the importance of the concept of public value. This systematic literature review reveals that most of the work on public value has been done in developed countries like USA, UK, Australia, and Netherland and developing countries are far behind on the research of public value.

scholarly journals Evaluating Access, Quality, and Equity in Online Learning: A Case Study of a MOOC-Based Blended Professional Degree Program

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Littenberg-Tobias ◽  
Justin Reich
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Degree Program ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Professional Degree ◽  
Technological Affordances

Many higher education institutions have begun offering opportunities to earn credit for in-person courses through massive open online courses (MOOCs). This mixed-methods study examines the experiences of students participating in one of the first iterations of this trend: a blended professional master's degree program that admitted students based on performance in MOOC-based online courses. We found that the blended master's program attracted a cohort of highly educated mid-career professionals from developed countries who were looking for more flexible alternatives to traditional graduate programs. Success in the online courses was correlated with higher levels of prior formal education and effective use of learning strategies. Students who enrolled in the blended graduate program reported being academically prepared for their coursework and had higher GPAs (3.86, p<0.01) than students in the residential program (3.75). The findings of this study suggest that the technological affordances of MOOC-based online and blended degrees will neither transform higher education nor solve its most stubborn equity challenges, but there may be particular niches where they provide a valuable service to learners in particular programs and contexts.

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