How Does Internet Use Affect the Farmers’ Trust in Local Government: Evidence from China

Suhao Wei and Yangxiao Lu ()
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Suhao Wei: School of Public Administration, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Yangxiao Lu: College of Economics and Management, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The rapid spread of the internet in rural China in the 21st century has fundamentally reshaped the operation of the Chinese rural political system in ways that are at least as profound as television half a century ago. This study used the data of 8754 farmers from 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in China to examine and provide empirical evidence on how internet use affects farmers’ trust in local government via a chain-mediation model. The results indicate that internet use erodes farmers’ trust in local government. Internet use is more likely to cause young and highly educated farmers to lose trust in local government. Both views on people’s livelihood problems and government performance evaluations play mediating roles between internet use and farmers’ trust in local government. Further, we also found that the negative direct impact of internet use on farmers’ trust in local government is also serial mediated by views on people’s livelihood problems and government performance evaluations. The results expand the research on the factors influencing trust in government.

Keywords: internet use; local government trust; livelihood problems; government performance evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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