The effect of internet usage on perceptions of social fairness: Evidence from rural China

Abstract

Using Chinese Social Survey data for 6205 geographically distributed rural households, this paper assesses the impact of Internet usage on social fairness perceptions (SFPs) among Chinese farmers. To address the potential selection bias associated with voluntary Internet usage, the analysis employs an endogenous ordered probit model whose results suggest that, in general, Internet usage has a statistically significant and negative impact on farmer SFPs. Nonetheless, an additional disaggregated analysis reveals that this impact is heterogeneous among different age groups and geographic regions, as well as between male and female household heads.