Pollution matters: The political cost of information disclosure
研究中国实时空气污染信息披露对政治信任的影响，发现信息在污染较轻地区反而降低了信任，因为居民此前未意识到污染，披露后引发担忧和轻度抑郁风险上升。
Abstract This study firstly examines the causal effect of environmental information disclosure on political trust and then provides a novel psychological mechanism through which the effect occurred. Exploiting the staggered rolled‐out implementation of a national program in China that provides real‐time air‐pollution information to the public, we find that air pollution adversely moderates the positive effect of information disclosure on political trust. Notably and surprisingly, this “adverse moderation” is concentrated in less polluted areas, where the lack of visible smog led citizens to remain unaware of the actual pollution levels until information is disclosed. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the adverse moderation is more pronounced among urban residents using Internet, an important source for pollution information. Furthermore, we establish that the causal effect operates through the channels of citizens' mental well‐being, demonstrated by a large and statistically significant increase in the risk of mild depression due to heightened concern over pollution.