Informal Institutions and Environmental Quality: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Different Civic Pro-Environmental Behaviors in China

Environmental quality is influenced both by formal institutions, such as laws and policies, and by informal institutions, such as religious beliefs. However, the mechanism through which religious beliefs affect environmental quality is unclear. Using questionnaire data from a sample of 8,158 respondents in the 2013 China General Social Survey database, this work aimed to explore the impact and mechanisms of informal institutions on environmental quality from the perspective of religious beliefs. On the basis of this quantitative analysis, it was found that the informal institution of religious beliefs was critical to improving environmental quality. Moreover, mechanism analysis illustrated that the relationship between informal institutions and environmental quality was partially mediated by both symbolic and substantive environmental behaviors, and the mediating effect of substantive environmental behaviors was more significant. This supports the strongly normative and purposeful application of informal institutions.