Happy citizens trust their rulers

Abstract

Using Chinese panel data, we examine whether citizen well-being impacts the formation of political trust, which is key to regime stability. Through a quasi-experimental method, we demonstrate how an improvement in subjective well-being directly leads to increased political trust. In a supplementary analysis, we also demonstrate how low political trust is predictive of actions that undermine regime stability. These findings suggest that any government, even an authoritarian one, has an incentive to foster the happiness of its citizens.