TY - JOUR
T1 - Fairness matters when responding to disasters
T2 - An experimental study of government legitimacy
AU - Mazepus, Honorata
AU - van Leeuwen, Florian
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Governments worldwide are regularly faced with severe weather conditions and disasters caused by natural hazards. Does the way in which governments respond to disasters affect their legitimacy? The current study investigated how evaluations of authorities were influenced by four aspects of a governmental response to a hypothetical disaster. In a survey experiment participants read a scenario in which a government distributed aid in the aftermath of a flooding. Data were collected from the Netherlands, France, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia (N = 2,677). Results showed that the government was seen as more legitimate when it was described as distributing resources fairly, following fair procedures, and providing a material benefit to the participant. However, in contrast to predictions derived from system‐justification theory, results showed that outcome dependence was associated with reduced legitimacy. These findings suggest that response policies that address both instrumental and fairness concerns might help maintain positive evaluations of governments.
AB - Governments worldwide are regularly faced with severe weather conditions and disasters caused by natural hazards. Does the way in which governments respond to disasters affect their legitimacy? The current study investigated how evaluations of authorities were influenced by four aspects of a governmental response to a hypothetical disaster. In a survey experiment participants read a scenario in which a government distributed aid in the aftermath of a flooding. Data were collected from the Netherlands, France, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia (N = 2,677). Results showed that the government was seen as more legitimate when it was described as distributing resources fairly, following fair procedures, and providing a material benefit to the participant. However, in contrast to predictions derived from system‐justification theory, results showed that outcome dependence was associated with reduced legitimacy. These findings suggest that response policies that address both instrumental and fairness concerns might help maintain positive evaluations of governments.
KW - BLAME
KW - GENERATE
KW - INSTITUTIONAL LEGITIMACY
KW - NATURAL DISASTER
KW - PROCEDURAL JUSTICE
KW - SATISFACTION
KW - SOCIAL-JUSTICE
KW - SYSTEM JUSTIFICATION
KW - VOICE
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85070813530&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/gove.12440
DO - 10.1111/gove.12440
M3 - Article
VL - 33
SP - 621
EP - 637
JO - Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration
JF - Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration
SN - 1468-0491
IS - 3
ER -