The impact of perceived fairness on consumers’ willingness to pay for water quality improvements: evidence from China

Financing drinking water improvements in low tariff regimes requires price increases, yet affordability alone cannot ensure public acceptance. In a survey experiment with 1027 urban Chinese residents, perceived fairness is associated with 0.58–0.84 RMB/m3 higher WTP for cleaner raw water and national standard water – nearly half of the twelve year cumulative tariff increase. Collective and prospective rationales boost fairness perceptions, while cost recovery framings reduce them. We conclude that communication design is a distinct policy lever for tariff reform, not merely a substitute for affordability protection.