Evaluating the Impact of Institutional Performance and Government Trust on Farmers’ Subjective Well-Being: A Case of Urban–Rural Welfare Gap Perception and Family Economic Status in Shaanxi, Sichuan and Anhui, China

Abstract

In the modern world, fostering comprehensive social sustainability has become one of the major concerns. Interestingly, rural livelihood may significantly comprise the compelling performance evaluations of governmental institutions’ performances. Governmental institutions’ performances in rural areas largely depend on whether they can gain relatively higher trust levels of marginal farmers. However, the critical interaction between these two prospects may foster farmers’ subjective well-being (SWB). Therefore, the study aims to model and test institutional performance, government trust, and farmers’ subjective well-being by utilising a survey of data from 963 farmer households in Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Anhui provinces, China. We have adopted structural equation modelling (SEM) to craft the study’s findings. However, in the literature, political performance is widely quantified by the urban–rural welfare and economic status gap; thus, in the core model, we have incorporated and measured the mediating role of the urban–rural welfare gap and household economic status. The results show that institutional performance, social insurance performance, and ecological livability performance have a significant and positive impact on institutional performance and government trust and eventually derive farmers’ SWB. However, the role of environmental livability performance is more substantial than social insurance performance in quantifying governmental trust and institutional performance. Moreover, it has a significant positive impact on the subjective well-being of farmers, and the effect of policy trust is not substantial. The results of further mediation and moderation effects show that social insurance performance and ecological livability performance can enhance the subjective well-being of farmers through the indirect transmission of institutional trust. In contrast, the mediating impact of policy trust is not significant. For farmers with higher economic status, institutional performance has a more substantial effect on the subjective well-being of farmers with a relatively smaller perception of the urban–rural welfare gap and lower family economic status.

How do socioeconomic differentiation and rural governance affect households' land transfer decisions? Evidence from China

“…The trust and satisfaction of households with the government and cadres will contribute to their recognition and dependence on them, thereby facilitating the execution and functioning of the rural governance mechanisms and measures employed by the government and cadres. At the same time, households' attitudes and evaluations of government and cadres also depend on their actions in rural governance and the quality of rural governance, and households' trust in them can exactly indicate the operation of rural governance (Ding et al, 2023). Therefore, this study focuses on the perception and feedback evaluation of rural governance quality from the standpoint of households and specifically examines two variables, namely the evaluation of local governments and the trust in local cadres.…”

Perceived social fairness and trust in government serially mediate the effect of governance quality on subjective well-being

“…Subjective well-being can be explained from two perspectives: internal characteristics (e.g., personality traits, culture, demographics) and external circumstances (e.g., income, health, environment) 16 . High-quality governance can enhance subjective well-being by improving living conditions and social welfare 3 , 14 . However, further empirical investigation is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and to provide theoretical support for interventions that promote subjective well-being.…”

“…Fairness and trust are crucial elements in societal development, and their synergistic interplay can foster a well-organized and harmonious social order 14 . Citizens’ daily lives are closely intertwined with the distribution of social resources, and unequal distribution can result in unmet expectations among residents.…”

The Effects of ESG Management on Business Performance: The Case of Incheon International Airport

“…Especially, engaging in ESG activities becomes a valuable tool for firms seeking competitive advantage [21]. The correlation between public organizations and business performance has long been acknowledged as pivotal for fostering social and organizational support [101]. According to [101,102], an organization's business performance can be indirectly enhanced through the influence of trust.…”

“…The correlation between public organizations and business performance has long been acknowledged as pivotal for fostering social and organizational support [101]. According to [101,102], an organization's business performance can be indirectly enhanced through the influence of trust. Trust reflects societal confidence in the government based on public sector operations, aligning with expectations [21,103,104].…”