Xinsheng Liu
Biographic Data
| ID | 3731270 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Xinsheng Liu |
| GIVEN NAMES | Xinsheng |
| FAMILY NAME | Liu |
| SIGNATURE | LIU X |
| AFFILIATIONS | Texas A&M University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9404-1844 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 309 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
How does a focusing event shape public opinion? Natural experimental evidence from the Orlando mass shooting
Policy process theories posit that focusing events can trigger significant shifts in public attention and policy preferences, thereby reshaping public agenda setting. Prior studies, however, have not clearly defined the scope of public opinion changes induced by these focusing events, leading to inconsistent empirical findings. This study aims to reconceptualize the multiple layers of public opinion and formulate testable hypotheses to investigat…
Bureaucratic Access in National Policy Agenda Setting Process
Drawing insights from past scholarship, this paper offers theoretical expectations and empirical measures to examine federal bureaucrats' access to the congressional pre‐legislation agenda‐setting process on the issue of global warming and climate change (GWCC). Based on an original dataset covering all congressional GWCC hearings and testimonies from 1976 to 2007, we employ both traditional indicators and two new measures to assess three key ele…
Public trust in regulatory agencies and support for policies on agricultural gene drive
Public trust in government agencies plays an important role in the formation of public opinion about public policy issues. However, the association between public trust in regulatory agencies and public support for policy development in emergent biotechnologies such as gene drive is not well understood. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are tas…
Tainted trust
Adverse health and economic impacts of air pollution in China have been well documented, but few studies have examined how air pollution may affect people’s political trust in their government. From an expectation-performance perspective, we argue that air pollution makes Chinese citizens feel that their basic needs and well-being are under-protected by the government, thereby dampening their political trust. Empirically, we employ a unique datas…
Exploring public participation modes in government
In this study, we compare three modes of public participation in government (policy endorsement, coproduction, and co-investment) and introduce a two-layer explanation to the variations in citizens’ willingness to participate in these modes. We present effort as an overarching factor so more demanding modes receive lower public support. We also argue that issue importance, trust in government, and political ideology shape individuals’ degree of p…
Social Capital, carbon dependency, and public response to climate change in 22 European countries
A Micro Model of Problem Definition and Policy Choice
Past research on problem definition and public policy primarily focuses on the macro‐system level. In this study, we propose a micro model of problem definition and policy choice at the individual level. We argue that while individual citizens' problem definitions and policy preferences are rooted in and filtered through their predisposition characteristics (such as socioeconomic status, political orientation, and informational base), their polic…
Age Versus Socialization in Understanding Attitudes Toward Economic Reforms in China
Objective The objective of this research is to address the roles of age and socialization in explanation for attitudes toward economic reforms in China. Method Using data from the China Survey 2008 and the China Governance and Policy Survey of 2016, this note reports age/cohort‐related differences in both abstract and concrete attitudes toward economic reforms, and addresses two competing (or complementary) explanations for those differences, one…
How social capital shapes citizen willingness to co‐invest in public service
Why are citizens in some communities more willing to co‐invest in public services than citizens in other communities? Citizen co‐investment has become an important policy tool for governments to finance public services, yet little research has theorized and empirically examined the impacts of community contexts on citizens' willingness to invest their personal resources in public services. As social capital is often viewed as an important determi…
Historical knowledge and national identity
How is citizens’ factual historical knowledge related to their national identity? With original data from a nationally representative survey experiment in China, we find that significantly more Chinese citizens overestimate rather than underestimate China’s objective historical achievements, and those who overestimate the achievements of ancient Chinese civilization have higher levels of national identity. To an even greater degree, citizens who …
Bureaucratic expertise, overconfidence, and policy choice
Classic theory on bureaucracy suggests that one primary source of bureaucratic power in public administration and the policy‐making process derives from bureaucratic issue‐specific expertise. Studies in psychology and behavioral economics suggest that experienced experts tend to be overconfident in estimating their expertise, but few researchers have examined whether experienced bureaucrats are prone to overconfidence and, if so, how overconfiden…
Personal characteristics, local environmental conditions, and individual environmental concern
Early research shows that the level of individual environmental concern correlates with some personal characteristics, such as gender, political orientation, and beliefs and values. Many studies, however, omit important social and contextual factors that may influence individual concern. This paper adds to the extant literature by situating survey respondents within their local environment to examine both personal and local environmental influenc…
Public environmental concern in China
Public Problem Characterization, Policy Solution Generation, and Intra‐Agenda Connectivity
While policy agenda studies have extensively examined the interplays of various venues, one under‐explored area is the internal dynamics within an agenda venue. In this study, we focus on one of the important venues—news media—and investigate the inherent connections between how a public problem is characterized and how problem solutions are generated in media agenda setting. Drawing on agenda‐setting theories, we develop a typology to theorize t…
Predictors of the perceived risk of climate change and preferred resource levels for climate change management programs
In a 2013 US national public opinion survey, data were collected from 1321 adult respondents for five psychometric variables -- Dread, Scientists’ Level of Understanding, Public’s Level of Understanding, Number Affected, and Likelihood -- for six threats (sea-level rise, increased flooding, and four others) associated with climate change. Respondents also rated perceived risk and indicated the resource level that they believed should be invested …
Examining China’s Official Media Perception of the United States
The Influence of Specific Risk Perceptions on Public Policy Support
A great deal of research has been dedicated to understanding the relationship of public preferences to public policy. Much of this literature, though, does not account for risk perception, an important characteristic that affects individuals' preferences. In terms of policy, those who perceive high risk in association with a particular issue should be more likely to oppose policies that would increase that risk, and, conversely, support policies …
Examining the determinants of public environmental concern
Beyond the left–right cleavage
Following spatial choice theory and MAP methodology, we employ the data drawn from recent nationwide public opinion surveys to probe the latent political choice space in American political competition. Our analyses demonstrate that, in addition to the traditional left–right ideology continuum, there is a second distinct dimension in American political choice space. More importantly, the results from our regression analyses suggest that the second…
The ‘China Threat’ through the Lens of US Print Media
China scholars have examined the 'China threat' theory from various theoretical perspectives, offered a range of explanations for the theory's emergence and forecast the potential implications for US–China relations. However, few scholars have empirically studied the 'China threat' theory through the lens of the US media. This is a critical oversight, because the media plays a pivotal role in shaping US public opinion and US foreign policy, and t…
Forthcoming Articles
Explaining Media and Congressional Attention to Global Climate Change, 1969-2005
Agenda theories suggest that problem indicator, focusing event, and information feedback enhance issue attention. However, few studies have systematically tested this. This study, using time series data and vector autoregression (VAR), examines how climate problem indicator, high-profile international event, and climate science feedback influence media and congressional attention to global warming and climate change. The findings confirm that the…
Understanding Local Policymaking
Despite the increasing interest in policy agenda research in recent years, very few studies have focused their attention on the relevant processes at the local level. Drawing on agenda‐setting research, particularly Kingdon's multiple‐streams framework, this study examines the key forces and factors, as well as their relative importance, in local agenda setting, problem identification, and alternative policy selection. Data are collected from 271…
Regional news portrayals of global warming and climate change
Dimension manipulation and choice strategy in US-China relations
Explaining Media and Congressional Attention to Global Climate Change, 1969-2005
Agenda theories suggest that problem indicator, focusing event, and information feedback enhance issue attention. However, few studies have systematically tested this. This study, using time series data and vector autoregression (VAR), examines how climate problem indicator, high-profile international event, and climate science feedback influence media and congressional attention to global warming and climate change. The findings confirm that the…
Understanding Local Policymaking
Despite the increasing interest in policy agenda research in recent years, very few studies have focused their attention on the relevant processes at the local level. Drawing on agenda‐setting research, particularly Kingdon's multiple‐streams framework, this study examines the key forces and factors, as well as their relative importance, in local agenda setting, problem identification, and alternative policy selection. Data are collected from 271…
Examining the determinants of public environmental concern
The ‘China Threat’ through the Lens of US Print Media
China scholars have examined the 'China threat' theory from various theoretical perspectives, offered a range of explanations for the theory's emergence and forecast the potential implications for US–China relations. However, few scholars have empirically studied the 'China threat' theory through the lens of the US media. This is a critical oversight, because the media plays a pivotal role in shaping US public opinion and US foreign policy, and t…
Bureaucratic expertise, overconfidence, and policy choice
Classic theory on bureaucracy suggests that one primary source of bureaucratic power in public administration and the policy‐making process derives from bureaucratic issue‐specific expertise. Studies in psychology and behavioral economics suggest that experienced experts tend to be overconfident in estimating their expertise, but few researchers have examined whether experienced bureaucrats are prone to overconfidence and, if so, how overconfiden…
Public environmental concern in China
Regional news portrayals of global warming and climate change
Public Problem Characterization, Policy Solution Generation, and Intra‐Agenda Connectivity
While policy agenda studies have extensively examined the interplays of various venues, one under‐explored area is the internal dynamics within an agenda venue. In this study, we focus on one of the important venues—news media—and investigate the inherent connections between how a public problem is characterized and how problem solutions are generated in media agenda setting. Drawing on agenda‐setting theories, we develop a typology to theorize t…
Social Capital, carbon dependency, and public response to climate change in 22 European countries
Personal characteristics, local environmental conditions, and individual environmental concern
Early research shows that the level of individual environmental concern correlates with some personal characteristics, such as gender, political orientation, and beliefs and values. Many studies, however, omit important social and contextual factors that may influence individual concern. This paper adds to the extant literature by situating survey respondents within their local environment to examine both personal and local environmental influenc…
Examining China’s Official Media Perception of the United States
How social capital shapes citizen willingness to co‐invest in public service
Why are citizens in some communities more willing to co‐invest in public services than citizens in other communities? Citizen co‐investment has become an important policy tool for governments to finance public services, yet little research has theorized and empirically examined the impacts of community contexts on citizens' willingness to invest their personal resources in public services. As social capital is often viewed as an important determi…
Historical knowledge and national identity
How is citizens’ factual historical knowledge related to their national identity? With original data from a nationally representative survey experiment in China, we find that significantly more Chinese citizens overestimate rather than underestimate China’s objective historical achievements, and those who overestimate the achievements of ancient Chinese civilization have higher levels of national identity. To an even greater degree, citizens who …
Predictors of the perceived risk of climate change and preferred resource levels for climate change management programs
In a 2013 US national public opinion survey, data were collected from 1321 adult respondents for five psychometric variables -- Dread, Scientists’ Level of Understanding, Public’s Level of Understanding, Number Affected, and Likelihood -- for six threats (sea-level rise, increased flooding, and four others) associated with climate change. Respondents also rated perceived risk and indicated the resource level that they believed should be invested …
Beyond the left–right cleavage
Following spatial choice theory and MAP methodology, we employ the data drawn from recent nationwide public opinion surveys to probe the latent political choice space in American political competition. Our analyses demonstrate that, in addition to the traditional left–right ideology continuum, there is a second distinct dimension in American political choice space. More importantly, the results from our regression analyses suggest that the second…
A Micro Model of Problem Definition and Policy Choice
Past research on problem definition and public policy primarily focuses on the macro‐system level. In this study, we propose a micro model of problem definition and policy choice at the individual level. We argue that while individual citizens' problem definitions and policy preferences are rooted in and filtered through their predisposition characteristics (such as socioeconomic status, political orientation, and informational base), their polic…
The Influence of Specific Risk Perceptions on Public Policy Support
A great deal of research has been dedicated to understanding the relationship of public preferences to public policy. Much of this literature, though, does not account for risk perception, an important characteristic that affects individuals' preferences. In terms of policy, those who perceive high risk in association with a particular issue should be more likely to oppose policies that would increase that risk, and, conversely, support policies …
How does a focusing event shape public opinion? Natural experimental evidence from the Orlando mass shooting
Policy process theories posit that focusing events can trigger significant shifts in public attention and policy preferences, thereby reshaping public agenda setting. Prior studies, however, have not clearly defined the scope of public opinion changes induced by these focusing events, leading to inconsistent empirical findings. This study aims to reconceptualize the multiple layers of public opinion and formulate testable hypotheses to investigat…
Age Versus Socialization in Understanding Attitudes Toward Economic Reforms in China
Objective The objective of this research is to address the roles of age and socialization in explanation for attitudes toward economic reforms in China. Method Using data from the China Survey 2008 and the China Governance and Policy Survey of 2016, this note reports age/cohort‐related differences in both abstract and concrete attitudes toward economic reforms, and addresses two competing (or complementary) explanations for those differences, one…
Dimension manipulation and choice strategy in US-China relations
Public trust in regulatory agencies and support for policies on agricultural gene drive
Public trust in government agencies plays an important role in the formation of public opinion about public policy issues. However, the association between public trust in regulatory agencies and public support for policy development in emergent biotechnologies such as gene drive is not well understood. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are tas…
Tainted trust
Adverse health and economic impacts of air pollution in China have been well documented, but few studies have examined how air pollution may affect people’s political trust in their government. From an expectation-performance perspective, we argue that air pollution makes Chinese citizens feel that their basic needs and well-being are under-protected by the government, thereby dampening their political trust. Empirically, we employ a unique datas…
Dimension manipulation and choice strategy in US-China relations
Regional news portrayals of global warming and climate change
Understanding Local Policymaking
Despite the increasing interest in policy agenda research in recent years, very few studies have focused their attention on the relevant processes at the local level. Drawing on agenda‐setting research, particularly Kingdon's multiple‐streams framework, this study examines the key forces and factors, as well as their relative importance, in local agenda setting, problem identification, and alternative policy selection. Data are collected from 271…
Explaining Media and Congressional Attention to Global Climate Change, 1969-2005
Agenda theories suggest that problem indicator, focusing event, and information feedback enhance issue attention. However, few studies have systematically tested this. This study, using time series data and vector autoregression (VAR), examines how climate problem indicator, high-profile international event, and climate science feedback influence media and congressional attention to global warming and climate change. The findings confirm that the…
The ‘China Threat’ through the Lens of US Print Media
China scholars have examined the 'China threat' theory from various theoretical perspectives, offered a range of explanations for the theory's emergence and forecast the potential implications for US–China relations. However, few scholars have empirically studied the 'China threat' theory through the lens of the US media. This is a critical oversight, because the media plays a pivotal role in shaping US public opinion and US foreign policy, and t…
Forthcoming Articles
Beyond the left–right cleavage
Following spatial choice theory and MAP methodology, we employ the data drawn from recent nationwide public opinion surveys to probe the latent political choice space in American political competition. Our analyses demonstrate that, in addition to the traditional left–right ideology continuum, there is a second distinct dimension in American political choice space. More importantly, the results from our regression analyses suggest that the second…
Examining the determinants of public environmental concern
Predictors of the perceived risk of climate change and preferred resource levels for climate change management programs
In a 2013 US national public opinion survey, data were collected from 1321 adult respondents for five psychometric variables -- Dread, Scientists’ Level of Understanding, Public’s Level of Understanding, Number Affected, and Likelihood -- for six threats (sea-level rise, increased flooding, and four others) associated with climate change. Respondents also rated perceived risk and indicated the resource level that they believed should be invested …
Examining China’s Official Media Perception of the United States
The Influence of Specific Risk Perceptions on Public Policy Support
A great deal of research has been dedicated to understanding the relationship of public preferences to public policy. Much of this literature, though, does not account for risk perception, an important characteristic that affects individuals' preferences. In terms of policy, those who perceive high risk in association with a particular issue should be more likely to oppose policies that would increase that risk, and, conversely, support policies …
Personal characteristics, local environmental conditions, and individual environmental concern
Early research shows that the level of individual environmental concern correlates with some personal characteristics, such as gender, political orientation, and beliefs and values. Many studies, however, omit important social and contextual factors that may influence individual concern. This paper adds to the extant literature by situating survey respondents within their local environment to examine both personal and local environmental influenc…
Public environmental concern in China
Public Problem Characterization, Policy Solution Generation, and Intra‐Agenda Connectivity
While policy agenda studies have extensively examined the interplays of various venues, one under‐explored area is the internal dynamics within an agenda venue. In this study, we focus on one of the important venues—news media—and investigate the inherent connections between how a public problem is characterized and how problem solutions are generated in media agenda setting. Drawing on agenda‐setting theories, we develop a typology to theorize t…
Bureaucratic expertise, overconfidence, and policy choice
Classic theory on bureaucracy suggests that one primary source of bureaucratic power in public administration and the policy‐making process derives from bureaucratic issue‐specific expertise. Studies in psychology and behavioral economics suggest that experienced experts tend to be overconfident in estimating their expertise, but few researchers have examined whether experienced bureaucrats are prone to overconfidence and, if so, how overconfiden…
Historical knowledge and national identity
How is citizens’ factual historical knowledge related to their national identity? With original data from a nationally representative survey experiment in China, we find that significantly more Chinese citizens overestimate rather than underestimate China’s objective historical achievements, and those who overestimate the achievements of ancient Chinese civilization have higher levels of national identity. To an even greater degree, citizens who …
Age Versus Socialization in Understanding Attitudes Toward Economic Reforms in China
Objective The objective of this research is to address the roles of age and socialization in explanation for attitudes toward economic reforms in China. Method Using data from the China Survey 2008 and the China Governance and Policy Survey of 2016, this note reports age/cohort‐related differences in both abstract and concrete attitudes toward economic reforms, and addresses two competing (or complementary) explanations for those differences, one…
How social capital shapes citizen willingness to co‐invest in public service
Why are citizens in some communities more willing to co‐invest in public services than citizens in other communities? Citizen co‐investment has become an important policy tool for governments to finance public services, yet little research has theorized and empirically examined the impacts of community contexts on citizens' willingness to invest their personal resources in public services. As social capital is often viewed as an important determi…
Social Capital, carbon dependency, and public response to climate change in 22 European countries
A Micro Model of Problem Definition and Policy Choice
Past research on problem definition and public policy primarily focuses on the macro‐system level. In this study, we propose a micro model of problem definition and policy choice at the individual level. We argue that while individual citizens' problem definitions and policy preferences are rooted in and filtered through their predisposition characteristics (such as socioeconomic status, political orientation, and informational base), their polic…
Exploring public participation modes in government
In this study, we compare three modes of public participation in government (policy endorsement, coproduction, and co-investment) and introduce a two-layer explanation to the variations in citizens’ willingness to participate in these modes. We present effort as an overarching factor so more demanding modes receive lower public support. We also argue that issue importance, trust in government, and political ideology shape individuals’ degree of p…
How does a focusing event shape public opinion? Natural experimental evidence from the Orlando mass shooting
Policy process theories posit that focusing events can trigger significant shifts in public attention and policy preferences, thereby reshaping public agenda setting. Prior studies, however, have not clearly defined the scope of public opinion changes induced by these focusing events, leading to inconsistent empirical findings. This study aims to reconceptualize the multiple layers of public opinion and formulate testable hypotheses to investigat…
Bureaucratic Access in National Policy Agenda Setting Process
Drawing insights from past scholarship, this paper offers theoretical expectations and empirical measures to examine federal bureaucrats' access to the congressional pre‐legislation agenda‐setting process on the issue of global warming and climate change (GWCC). Based on an original dataset covering all congressional GWCC hearings and testimonies from 1976 to 2007, we employ both traditional indicators and two new measures to assess three key ele…
Public trust in regulatory agencies and support for policies on agricultural gene drive
Public trust in government agencies plays an important role in the formation of public opinion about public policy issues. However, the association between public trust in regulatory agencies and public support for policy development in emergent biotechnologies such as gene drive is not well understood. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are tas…
Tainted trust
Adverse health and economic impacts of air pollution in China have been well documented, but few studies have examined how air pollution may affect people’s political trust in their government. From an expectation-performance perspective, we argue that air pollution makes Chinese citizens feel that their basic needs and well-being are under-protected by the government, thereby dampening their political trust. Empirically, we employ a unique datas…
Political science (24 works) · Politics (14 works) · Economics (13 works) · Climate Change Communication and Perception (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Public economics (8 works) · China (7 works)