Political Trust and Ecological Crisis Perceptions in Developing Economies: Evidence from Ecuador

Abstract

Could an individual’s perception of the possibility of a future ecological crisis be linked to their level of political trust? Studies of environmental attitudes have identified political trust as an important predictor of support for environmental taxation or risk perceptions surrounding specific local environmental hazards, but less is known about its role when environmental risks are perceived as diffuse and distant. Using original survey data from Ecuador, this article finds that political distrust predicts heightened ecological crisis perceptions and that higher educational attainment intensifies this relationship. A follow-up analysis of the AmericasBarometer’s Ecuador survey shows that political distrust also predicts higher concern about climate change. These findings suggest that when evaluations of political institutions reflect perceptions of environmental risks, individuals blame the government for environmental failures. The implications of this study are particularly relevant for political institutions in developing economies, where the public sector often spearheads development efforts.

Evaluation of Perceived Environmental Risks of Residents' Life under the Perspective of Environmental Public Opinion

“…There have been many achievements in the study of environmental public opinion, which indicates that environmental public opinion plays an important role in the government's formulation of environmental pollution policies. For example, individuals blame the government for environmental failures when evaluations of political institutions reflect perceptions of environmental risks (Verner, 2023). Sun and Zhu (2023) analyzed keywords in the Baidu Search Index (BSI) related to the public's risk perceptions and behavioral responses to outdoor air pollution, and the proposed framework can facilitate environmental risk management policy decisions by considering realtime public risk perception and behavioral response information, improving the efficiency of environmental risk management and facilitating environmental risk management policy decision-making.…”