Origins of Political Legitimacy in Authoritarian Regimes: Evidence from China

• In Event: Public Trust and Authoritarian Control

Brief Overview

Examining rural China, we use a conjoint experiment to test how formal and informal institutions shape political authority. Villagers trust formal leaders for benefits but turn to informal ones when outcomes are unfavorable.

Authors

• Jiawei Fu, Duke University

• Zeren Li, National University of Singapore

• Bingyang Xie, Fudan University

• Chunhui Ye, Zhejiang University

• Qi Zhang, Fudan University