Cultivating Good Citizens: An Investigation of the capacity of moral governance in China

• In Event: 50806 - The Role of Culture, Institutions, and Power in Moral Action

Abstract

This study aims to empirically examine the impact of moral governance on individuals’ perceived obligation for rule compliance. In China, morality has been playing a crucial role in state governance. This phenomenon is characterized by: 1) framing governance issues on a moral ground (moral narrative) and 2) employing moral methods in rule enforcement, such as using moral shaming to address rule violations (moral implication). I conceptualize this approach as ‘moral governance’. By normalizing and internalizing specific moral norms within the population, this approach seeks to foster voluntary adherence to rules. Despite extensive scholarly discussion on moral governance, an empirical examination of its capacity for mobilizing rule compliance remains unavailable.
To examine this capacity, I conducted a pre-registered survey experiment, which was administered to 2,480 Chinese citizens online in October 2024. Participants were randomly assigned to one of eight vignettes, each presenting a scenario where a debtor faces the dilemma of whether to repay a debt. The vignettes varied across three manipulated variables: moral narrative, moral implication and moral radius. I found that: Firstly, individuals who are more educated, born after the economic reform in 1978, or engaged in cognitive work exhibit a stronger sense of obligation to repay loans; Secondly, exposure to a moral narrative significantly increases the perceived obligation to repay loans among individuals who are born after the reform, engaged in cognitive work, or have a university-level education or higher; Thirdly, moral implication exposure strengthens this perceived obligation only among manual workers rather than cognitive workers; Fourthly, an in-group moral radius enhances the perceived obligation to repay loans solely among individuals with university-level education or higher, with no effect on less educated individuals.
Therefore, I conclude that moral governance positively influences the perceived obligation for others to comply with rules, particularly among individuals who are more educated, born after the economic reform, and primarily engaged in cognitive work. This social expectation may well result in increased rule compliance. Moral propaganda may not just be empty words, but a working mechanism to strengthen state capacity through voluntary compliance.

Author

• Xue Gong, University of Vienna