“雪中送炭”:最低生活保障制度与基层政治信任

Timely Help: Minimum Living Support Scheme and Citizens’ Political Trust in Local Officials

本文通过分析2012年中国家庭追踪调查数据(CFPS 2012),研究经济发展过程中实施最低生活保障制度对民众政治信任水平的影响。研究发现,作为保障弱势群体基本生活需求的一项重要制度安排,最低生活保障的实施能显著提高弱势群体对基层政府官员的信任水平,领取低保的群体更加信任基层政府官员;代表民生工作的地方低保救助率与民众政治信任水平也存在显著的正相关;在现阶段,单纯的经济发展并不必然能带来更高水平的政治信任。本文认为,民众的政治信任不单取决于政府绩效或个人生活境遇,更取决于政府绩效的惠及性和可感知性,即个人能否感知到政府的绩效表现以及是否从中获益。

Using the data from Chinese Family Panel Studies(CFPS2012),this paper examines the impact of the Minimum Living Support Scheme(MLSS) on people’s trust in local government officials in the process of China’s rapid economic growth. Empirical analysis shows that people who have received subsidies from the MLSS report a higher level of trust in local government officials,and the local MLSS coverage has significantly positive effect on people’s political trust as well. Economic development,on the other hand,does not boost the level of political trust. Our findings suggest that people’s trust in government officials hinges not only upon government performance or individual socioeconomic situations but also upon their interactive effects,namely,how people perceive the government performance and whether they have benefited from it.