Leveraging social media for new energy vehicle policy diffusion in China: A central-local government interaction analysis

Social media is increasingly associated with new energy vehicle (NEV) policy diffusion in China. One way to explore how social media and policy diffusion are linked is to review the government posts on different topics of the policy over time. To investigate the diffusion dynamics of NEV policies, this study proposes a central-local government interaction analysis, leveraging the government posts on social media. Dynamic topic model is deployed to unveil the evolving nature and intergovernmental disparities of policy topics. Subsequently, a net directional connectedness model is employed to construct information overflow networks of different policy topics among governments. A comprehensive examination of 5386 text posts is conducted using the proposed method. It is identified that the central government prioritizes guidance policies, emphasizing industry support and global cooperation, while local governments concentrate on specific implementation measures, following a trajectory of infrastructure development, research and development, and tax exemptions. In the policy diffusion network, central government serves as the primary driver of promotional signals, followed by Shanghai, Guangdong and Beijing, while Chongqing acts as a key recipient. Simultaneously, successful local implementation can feed back experiential knowledge to central policy, constituting a dual-directional diffusion mechanism of NEV policies between the central and local governments. These findings offer valuable insights into the understanding and diffusion of NEV policy in the digital era, revealing the complex interactions across diverse regions and administrative levels.