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‘Tiger-Hunting’ and Life Satisfaction: A Matter of Trust

Author

Listed:
  • Youxing Zhang
  • Peter Howley
  • Clemens Hetschko

Abstract

Governments will often look to publicly signal their efforts to tackle issues of concern as a way of garnering political support. Combining data on the public disclosure of anti-corruption efforts and individual well-being in China, we show that such signals may increase the salience of the issue in question and hence diminish the life satisfaction of citizens with low political trust. For citizens with high trust, such signals appear to enhance life satisfaction. This means that signalling efforts may have unintended negative consequences on population well-being and thus political support, particularly when faced with low political trust.

Suggested Citation

  • Youxing Zhang & Peter Howley & Clemens Hetschko, 2022. "‘Tiger-Hunting’ and Life Satisfaction: A Matter of Trust," CESifo Working Paper Series 10058, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10058
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    corruption; life satisfaction; political trust; signalling theory; confirmation bias;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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