Internet use, market transformation, and individual tolerance: Evidence from China

Abstract

Earlier literature studies the relationship between Internet use and individual tolerance, but little research explores these links in the context of China. This article analyzes the impact of Internet use on individuals’ tolerance using Chinese national social survey data from 2015 to 2021. The results find that Internet use has a significant positive effect on individual social tolerance (ST) and moral tolerance (MT), and this effect is still valid after dealing with the endogenous problem by instrumental variables and the propensity score matching method. Moreover, the division of university education, unit system, and Hukou moderate the relationship between Internet use and individual social tolerance. Last, opportunity fairness and outcome fairness play the suppressing effects, not mediating effects. This article clarifies the role of digital technology in the development of high-quality economics and proposes that the government should pay more attention to changes in social attitudes.