CORRELATION MECHANISM BETWEEN PUBLIC GOVERNANCE EFFICIENCY, PUBLIC SECTOR TRUST AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF GOVERNANCE ORDER

Abstract

This paper constructs composite indicators of public governance efficiency and latent variables of public sector trust via factor analysis and multiple regression, so as to empirically examine the internal correlation mechanism linking governance efficiency, sector trust and public perception of governance order. The measurement system covers daily public services, law enforcement standardization and government information disclosure, which fully captures multi-dimensional characteristics of grassroots governance performance. Reliability and validity tests verify that the extracted latent variables have stable measurement effects and can reflect residents' real attitudes toward public services. Results reveal that rising public governance efficiency remarkably improves residents' perceptions of governance. Citizens demonstrate differentiated trust toward public sectors at varied administrative levels, and higher trust correlates with more positive evaluations of governance order. Social interpersonal trust serves as a promotes positive public perceptions, whereas intensive new media use easily generates information echo chambers. Individual factors including education background and subjective social status also create subtle gaps in residents' judgment standards of governance order. The coexistence of high objective governance performance and diverse public perceptions suggests that differences may exist between governance outcomes and citizens' subjective evaluations. Based on these findings, this study proposes strategies to strengthen government transparency, enhance public trust, and improve online information governance, providing empirical evidence for further improving grassroots governance and public satisfaction.