“Tiger‐hunting” and life satisfaction: A matter of trust

Abstract

Through anti‐corruption prosecutions, governments will often look to publicly signal their efforts at tackling corruption as a way of garnering political support. Our analysis combines Chinese data on the public disclosures of anti‐corruption prosecutions and individual well‐being indicators to explore the effect of these efforts for subjective well‐being. We show that while such signals are intended to garner political support, they can inadvertently lower life satisfaction among citizens, especially when political trust is low. Overall, our analysis illustrates how public demonstrations of efforts aimed at addressing issues of concern, despite their intended positive political effects, can erode public well‐being and potentially backfire when trust in the government is weak.