Abstract
In many developing countries, the public is shifting its focus from economic growth to quality-of-life issues. As a result, there is extensive demand for better public administration of quality-of-life issues, ranging from air pollution to food safety problems, that threaten ordinary peoples’ health and daily lives. This article analyzes the determinants of public perceptions of food safety and the administrative effects of regional governance in different provinces with nationwide survey data. A two-level hierarchical linear regression model (HLM) with provincial factors as background-level variables and demographic factors as individual-level variables was developed to measure the influence of these factors on public perceptions of food safety. The results showed that female, young, and well-educated urban residents perceived greater risks to food safety than other groups. Administrative fiscal expenditures and local normative documents in different provinces did not have significant effects on public perceptions of food safety. However, food safety inspections weakened public perceptions of food safety. We thereby suggest that provincial governments invest in more efficient food safety projects and enhance the publicity of normative documents in popular media.
Highlights
With economic development, the populations of developing countries are becoming less satisfied with the basic provision of services and shelter by governments; people expect better public administration regarding quality-of-life issues, including food safety
(the Asian Barometer Project Office (ABP Office) is solely responsible for data sharing and usage; we appreciate the support of the ABP Office in providing the data and the authors take full responsibility for the views expressed in this study) that generated 3346 complete and valid responses suggests that the average public perception of food safety status quo in mainland China is 5.509
We examined whether regulatory measures such as provincial normative documents, sample inspections, and fiscal expenditures on food safety, work to mitigate public food safety risk perception
Summary
The populations of developing countries are becoming less satisfied with the basic provision of services and shelter by governments; people expect better public administration regarding quality-of-life issues, including food safety. Women have been found to express higher levels of concern and anxiety than men about food safety risks in America [4], but an empirical study in the Chinese context indicates that gender does not make any difference in public perceptions of food safety [5]. A national survey by the ABS (the Asian Barometer Project Office (ABP Office) is solely responsible for data sharing and usage; we appreciate the support of the ABP Office in providing the data and the authors take full responsibility for the views expressed in this study) that generated 3346 complete and valid responses suggests that the average public perception of food safety status quo in mainland China is 5.509. We recommend that provincial governments pay special attention to fiscal expenditure deployment, which reduces physical food safety risks, decreases food scandals, and lowers public negative perceptions regarding food safety
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