Regulatory transparency and citizen support for government decisions: evidence from nuclear power acceptance in China

This study examines the effect of transparency as a governance mechanism on citizen support for controversial governmental decisions to public facilities. Building on the government transparency literature, this article argues that regulatory transparency has a double-sided meaning of regulatory enforcement and rule violations. Due to the ambiguity inherent in regulatory performance information, citizens may interpret disclosed information as a reflection of prevalent rule violations and thereby reduce support for relevant public facilities. Furthermore, the negative association between regulatory transparency and citizen support is contingent on citizens’ use of social media. We test these arguments in the nuclear energy regulatory domain using original, nationally representative survey data and an independent environmental regulation transparency index in China. Findings reveal that regulatory transparency reduces citizen support for proposed nuclear power programs. We also find that regulatory transparency is particularly influential for respondents with relatively higher levels of social media usage. These findings highlight the dilemma that governments face when they seek to enhance policy support through transparency in the digital age.