Digital government construction and civic policy participation: evidence from China

Citizens’ policy participation is vital for establishing policy legitimacy, which subsequently has a profound impact on successful policy implementation and the attainment of expected policy outcomes. Prior studies have demonstrated that public perception of government largely shapes their expectations of whether policymakers will take their opinions seriously, thus influencing their motivation to engage in the policy process. The rapid development of digital government in China has enhanced public evaluations of government transparency, administrative efficiency, and responsiveness. We therefore contend that digital government can foster civic policy engagement in China. By integrating prominent indexes reflecting the status of provincial digital government with a nationally representative survey, this paper reveals that the progression of digital government does encourage ordinary people to participate in policy demonstration meetings, express opinions on policy, and attend public policy hearings. This finding is robust across several additional analyses. The paper sheds light on civic policy participation and the political implications of digital government construction in China.