Does internet use improve the public evaluation of government environmental governance (GEG) in China? An analysis using the Chinese Social Survey, 2013-2017

Abstract

Based on three datasets of the Chinese Social Survey (CSS) 2013, 2015, and 2017 and the National Statistical Yearbook, this study examined whether and in what ways using the Internet may or may not affect the public evaluation of government environmental governance (GEG). There are three main findings. First, Internet use has a negative influence on the public evaluation of GEG. Second, there has been an urban-rural difference in terms of Internet use; especially for the rural resident, increasing their use of the Internet significantly lowered their evaluation of GEG. Third, Internet use affects GEG mainly through political trust, whilst it tends to enhance people’s perception of environmental problems; however, it has little influence on their evaluation of GEG. This finding implies that public evaluation of GEG should be viewed as an important inter-subjective dimension of GEG; especially in the Internet era, it has become increasingly necessary for the government to not only continuously improve the quality of governance by dealing with actual/practical environmental issues, but also enhance its ability to react to the public opinions online effectively and appropriately.