Union and Communist Party Influences on the Environment in China

Using a nationally representative sample (n=3112), we examine the ways in which two major and related governmental institutions of China, the Party and national union, could exert different effects on the attitude and behaviour of people toward the environment. While administratively the union is under the Party, we find differences between the two government institutions. Our results indicate that both the Party and union have a positive and generally significant effect on the attitudes of their members, but only the union effect is significant for individual behaviour directed at protecting the environment. Moreover, the union effect is much stronger than that of the Party in attitudes and especially in taking action to improve the environment. We outline reasons for this finding to enhance our knowledge of the impact of different human resource institutions in China on their members.