Pollution and Environmental Concern in Rural China

Abstract

In the last decades, China has become equally known for her high economic growth rates and the increased environmental pollution that came with the economic change. Although the central government has taken steps to mitigate environmental pollution, a large proportion of China's population still lives in rural areas where national environmental laws are often not implemented, and where environmental pollution can be quite serious. Thus, it is important to understand how China's rural population perceives and responds to environmental pollution. This thesis examines the factors shaping environmental concern in rural areas in China. It focuses specifically on the potential influence of the central government, the local government and the media. By using case studies of environmental pollution incidents during the time period of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan and a unique dataset, "the China Survey", this thesis assesses both qualitatively and quantitatively these three actors along with other possible factors. The results suggest that all three actors do influence environmental concern among rural Chinese, but that environmental concern also varies as a result of other factors like education, economic class and occupation.