China Policy Journal Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2018 | Page 105

China Policy Journal
Figure 2. The moderating effects of transparency on the
objective–subjective air quality relationship
el B–D in Figure 2 reveals similar patterns
by using different measures of air
pollution and transparency.
With regard to individual-level
control variables, we find that gender
has insignificant effect, albeit females
have slightly better air quality perception
than males. Age has significantly
positive effect on subjective air quality,
suggesting that elder residents are more
tolerant of air pollution. Education and
income are both significantly and positively
associated with subjective air
quality, which implies that high-educated
and high-earned residents have relatively
higher expectations toward air
quality and they are consequently more
discontent.
Discussions
How to strike a balance between
economic development and
environmental sustainability
has been one of the top policy priorities
in contemporary urban governance,
particularly for developing countries
such as China (Economy 2010). In China,
economic slowdown and pandemic
environmental pollution have led to
social protest and unrest (Albert and
Xu 2016). It is imperative for government
to respond in a more transparent
manner. In China, failures in managing
environmental pollution and citizen’s
perceptions are threatening the ruling
party’s political trust and legitimacy.
In this study, we use the data
from a recent national citizen survey
and a third-party assessment in over 30
Chinese major cities to empirically ex-
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