Polity Atlas
Article

Sources of Authoritarian Responsiveness: A Field Experiment in China

Jidong Chen; Jennifer Pan; Yiqing Xu · American Journal of Political Science 60(2), 383–400 · 2016

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Type
Article
Author
Jidong Chen; Jennifer Pan; Yiqing Xu
Identifier
DOI 10.1111/ajps.12207
Accessed
2026-09-01

Claims citing this source

2 claims
EstablishedIn an online field experiment in 2,103 Chinese counties, Chen, Pan and Xu found that about one-third of county governments responded to citizen requests, and that threats of collective action or of reporting to higher levels made them considerably more responsive.DisputedLocal officials in China respond more to online complaints than to other citizen requests, but much of this responsiveness is performative, aimed at satisfying superiors rather than resolving problems.