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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Are Satisfied Citizens Willing To Pay More? Public Sector Consumerism As Equitable Social Exchange., Brian Collins, Hyun Kim
Are Satisfied Citizens Willing To Pay More? Public Sector Consumerism As Equitable Social Exchange., Brian Collins, Hyun Kim
Brian K. Collins
Treating citizens like customers is a common prescription for public managers, but citizens differ from customers —citizens engage in equitable social exchange that balances individual preferences and assessments with willingness-to-pay for public amenities. This article examines whether citizen satisfaction with the quality and quantity of public amenities drives a citizen’s willingness-to-pay for more public provision. Analysing data from a Texas municipality’s satisfaction survey, the authors found that a decrease in satisfaction with the quantity of public amenities is associated with an increase in willingness-to-pay, but quality assessments show no relationship. Such behaviour highlights differences between customers and public sector consumers, …