Previous studies have confirmed the causal effect of performance information on citizen satisfaction, but they were primarily conducted in survey experimental settings that featured hypothetical and abstract scenarios and primed respondents to look at certain aspects of performance information. Whether the causal effects hold in the real world, which is a much more complex information environment, is questionable. We address the gaps by employing a regression discontinuity design to identify the impact of public schools’ performance grades on parents’ satisfaction with teachers and overall education in New York City. We find that performance signals have independent and lasting effects on citizens’ satisfaction. However, the effects are nonlinear, depending on the levels of performance signals. Parents’ responses are muted at the A/B performance grade cutoff, but their satisfaction increases significantly at the B/C and C/D cutoffs if their schools earn relatively higher grades.

中文翻译：

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政府绩效信号会影响公民满意度吗？

以前的研究已经证实了绩效信息对公民满意度的因果影响，但它们主要是在调查实验环境中进行的，这些实验环境以假设和抽象场景为特色，并促使受访者关注绩效信息的某些方面。现实世界是一个更加复杂的信息环境，因果效应是否成立值得怀疑。我们通过采用断点回归设计来解决这些差距，以确定公立学校的表现成绩对家长对纽约市教师和整体教育满意度的影响。我们发现绩效信号对公民满意度具有独立且持久的影响。然而，效果是非线性的，具体取决于性能信号的水平。家长的反应在 A/B 成绩截止点时反应平淡，但如果他们的学校获得相对较高的成绩，他们的满意度在 B/C 和 C/D 截止点时显着增加。