The Political Legacy of Entertainment TV

Durante, Ruben and Pinotti, Paolo and Tesei, Andrea (2019) The Political Legacy of Entertainment TV. The American Economic Review, 109 (7). pp. 2497-2530. ISSN 0002-8282

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

We study the political impact of commercial television in Italy exploiting the staggered introduction of Berlusconi's private TV network, Mediaset, in the early 1980s. We find that individuals with early access to Mediaset all-entertainment content were more likely to vote for Berlusconi's party in 1994, when he first ran for office. The effect persists for five elections and is driven by heavy TV viewers, namely the very young and the elderly. Regarding possible mechanisms, we find that individuals exposed to entertainment TV as children were less cognitively sophisticated and civic-minded as adults, and ultimately more vulnerable to Berlusconi's populist rhetoric.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
The American Economic Review
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2000/2002
Subjects:
?? economics and econometrics ??
ID Code:
138531
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
01 Nov 2019 14:50
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jul 2024 20:04