Governmental Trust, New Media Use and NIMBY Facility’s Acceptance: Evidence from China

Abstract

In recent years, the increasing number of NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) conflicts has had some negative impact on society and has also drawn the attention and research focus of scholars on the influencing factors of NIMBY acceptance. This study presents new evidence of governmental trust in NIMBY facility acceptance by introducing the moderating variable of citizens’ new media use and using OLS, Ordered Probit and Ordered Logit data analysis methods. Based on Chinese Social Survey (CSS) data from 2019, the empirical results show the following: (1) Greater governmental trust can increase citizens’ acceptance of NIMBY facilities and thus reduce NIMBY conflicts. (2) Citizens’ new media use plays a positive moderating role in the effect of governmental trust on citizens’ acceptance of NIMBY facilities, and the moderating effect is more significant in semiofficial and unofficial media. (3) The moderating effect of citizens’ new media use on the effect of governmental trust on NIMBY acceptance is more significant at the district and township government levels but not at the central government level. (4) Relative to urban residents, citizens in rural households are more receptive to NIMBY facilities. In light of the findings, policymakers should improve the public’s perception of trust in the government by expanding citizen participation and improving information disclosure and transparency. At the same time, the government should regard new media as a platform to release timely and effective information, reduce rumors, and provide some specific and supportive policies to urban citizens within the NIMBY construction.