Are environmental problems a barometer of corruption in the eyes of residents? Evidence from China

Actual environmental pollution will worsen people's perception of environmental problems, which may affect people's perception of government corruption, and thus affect the governments' credibility and social stability. From the micro perspective of residents' comprehensive feelings on environmental issues, this paper uses panel data for the period 2014-2018 obtained from a large-scale dynamics survey in China to investigate the impact of environmental issues on corruption perception. The empirical results suggest that residents' perception of environmental problems has a significantly positive linear correlation with their corruption perception. Moreover, the causal explanation of this correlation is strengthened after the introduction of exogenous environmental condition variables that profoundly affect residents' environmental perception and after mitigating endogenous bias via the instrumental variable method. The findings of this study deeply reveal the political value of environmental governance, suggesting that the deterioration of environmental problems can increase public perception of government corruption, and this relationship is distinct in different demographic groups.

Automated summary

Actual environmental pollution worsens people's perception of environmental problems and government corruption, thus affecting government credibility and social stability. This study investigates the impact of environmental issues on corruption perception using panel data from a large-scale dynamics survey in China from 2014 to 2018. The empirical results reveal a significant positive linear correlation between residents' perception of environmental problems and corruption perception.