Gaining Acceptance by Informing the People? Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Acceptance of Transportation Policies

Abstract

We examine the connection between public knowledge and attitudes in the context of urban transportation policies. We categorize policy knowledge into received, subjective, and reasoned knowledge, and measure them empirically using a survey of Shanghai's residents (n=1,000) on the vehicle license auction policy. We quantify the relationship between the three types of knowledge and public acceptance and its predecessors (perceived effectiveness, affordability, and equity). We find variegated impacts of knowledge on acceptance: reasoned knowledge increases acceptance but subjective knowledge decreases it, while received knowledge has no direct impact. Public information needs to emphasize societal benefits and the underlying policy rationale.

Support for market-based and command-and-control congestion relief policies in Latin American cities: Effects of mobility, environmental health, and city-level factors

“…Even though equity issues around congestion pricing can be managed through the use of funds raised ( Levinson, 2010 ), this needs to be communicated effectively with the broader public to gain acceptance. In China, Guangzhou’s experience with the allocation of vehicle registration permits, learning from Beijing and Shanghai, points to the importance of incorporating notions of fairness and equity, not only efficiency, in the management of urban space ( Li and Zhao, 2017 ).…”

“…Public acceptance largely determines the success of the congestion relief policies ( Li and Zhao, 2017 ), and congestion pricing has lower public support than vehicle bans in Latin America ( Despacio and ITDP, 2013 ; Mahendra, 2008 ). Most researchers agree that market-based approaches are more economically efficient, but raise equity concerns as fees are likely to impact low- and middle-income drivers more heavily than high income drivers ( Levinson, 2010 ).…”

Practices of Illegal Fishing in Pemalang Region: A Policy Analysis

“…In addition, public participation will also reduce the likelihood of nonavailability of communities to accept decisions that have a significant effect on the formation of public policy [6,7]. In order to empower community participation in supervision and protection, the local government through the relevant Regional Government Organizations can budget the funds through the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget.…”

The Effects of Citizen Knowledge on the Effectiveness of Government Communications on Nuclear Energy Policy in South Korea

“…Little research has addressed the ways in which external government communication affects citizens' perceptions of and attitudes toward government. Furthermore, while citizens' knowledge plays a critical role in their processing of public information [6,[9][10][11], the literature overlooks the influence of citizen knowledge on the effectiveness of external government communication.…”

“…Based on a structural model of the effectiveness of government communication in modifying citizen attitudes, the current study built upon and extended the understanding of government communication by incorporating citizens' knowledge as a key determinant. Citizens' perceptions of and attitudes to the government operate within the limits of their cognitive abilities and the bounds within which they interact [9,10], which implies that citizens' knowledge of government activities influences their attitudes toward government. Differences in knowledge between citizens appear to depend on government communication effectiveness.…”