Does ICT Diffusion Increase Government Responsiveness in Autocracies? An empirical assessment of the political implications of China's Internet

Numerous scholars have suggested that ICT diffusion may lead to more responsive governance in China. To date, however, few empirical studies have been made of the political implications of China's Internet, and previous studies of the association between citizen access to information and government responsiveness have focused on democratic contexts, relying on electoral mechanisms as explanations for the observed positive relationship. This article investigates ICT diffusion and government responsiveness in China by examining data on the composition of government spending. Results indicate that increasing ICT diffusion is associated with a higher proportion of provincial government spending devoted to health and education, and a lower proportion devoted to capital construction. A collective action mechanism is proposed as a potential driver of these results.