Research on Environmental Pollution and Chinese Government Trust Relationship in Transition Period

Abstract

Under both fiscal decentralization and GDP-oriented performance evaluation, local governments promote a rapid economic growth while the living environment of residents is being damaged seriously. As a consequence, environmental pollution has become an important social issue. Environmental pollution not only affects the production and the life of residents but also the trust of the residents in their governments. Based on the CFPS 2014 microeconomic survey, this paper examines the impact of environmental pollution on government trust levels. That study highlighted a significant decrease in regard to the level of trust in the governments of residents affected by regional high-pollution enterprises and residents not being affected by high-pollution enterprises. Further analysis shows that the political participation behaviour of residents significantly reduces the negative impact of environmental pollution concerning the level of government trust. As such, this provides some policy advice for improving environmental governance and enhancing the image of the government.