IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecopol/v35y2023i1p163-226.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The voice of radio in the battle for equal rights: Evidence from the U.S. South

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Bernini

Abstract

Although the 1960s race riots have gone down in history as America's most violent and destructive ethnic civil disturbances, a consensus on the factors able to explain their insurgence is yet to be found. Using a novel data set on the universe of radio stations airing Black‐appeal programming, the effect of the media on riots is found to be sizable and statistically significant. A marginal (1%) increase in signal reception from these stations is estimated to lead to a 2.4% and 4.1% rise in the mean levels of the frequency and intensity of riots, respectively. Several mechanisms behind this result are considered, with the quantity, quality, and length of exposure to radio programming all being decisive factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Bernini, 2023. "The voice of radio in the battle for equal rights: Evidence from the U.S. South," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 163-226, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecopol:v:35:y:2023:i:1:p:163-226
    DOI: 10.1111/ecpo.12213
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecpo.12213
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ecpo.12213?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maja Adena & Ruben Enikolopov & Maria Petrova & Veronica Santarosa & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2015. "Radio and the Rise of The Nazis in Prewar Germany," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(4), pages 1885-1939.
    2. Arthur Blouin & Sharun W. Mukand, 2019. "Erasing Ethnicity? Propaganda, Nation Building, and Identity in Rwanda," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(3), pages 1008-1062.
    3. Johannes C. Buggle & Steven Nafziger, 2021. "The Slow Road from Serfdom: Labor Coercion and Long-Run Development in the Former Russian Empire," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(1), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Stefano Gagliarducci & Massimiliano Gaetano Onorato & Francesco Sobbrio & Guido Tabellini, 2020. "War of the Waves: Radio and Resistance during World War II," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 1-38, October.
    5. Brian Knight & Ana Tribin, 2019. "The Limits of Propaganda: Evidence from Chavez’s Venezuela," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 567-605.
    6. William J. Collins & Robert A. Margo, 2003. "The Labor Market Effects of the 1960s Riots," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 0324, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    7. Benjamin A. Olken, 2009. "Do Television and Radio Destroy Social Capital? Evidence from Indonesian Villages," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(4), pages 1-33, October.
    8. Riccardo Puglisi & James M. Snyder Jr., 2015. "The Balanced Us Press," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 240-264, April.
    9. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    10. Tianyi Wang, 2021. "Media, Pulpit, and Populist Persuasion: Evidence from Father Coughlin," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(9), pages 3064-3092, September.
    11. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2010. "What Drives Media Slant? Evidence From U.S. Daily Newspapers," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(1), pages 35-71, January.
    12. Hansen, Christian B., 2007. "Generalized least squares inference in panel and multilevel models with serial correlation and fixed effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 670-694, October.
    13. Collins, William J. & Margo, Robert A., 2007. "The Economic Aftermath of the 1960s Riots in American Cities: Evidence from Property Values," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 67(4), pages 849-883, December.
    14. James M. Snyder & David Strömberg, 2010. "Press Coverage and Political Accountability," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(2), pages 355-408, April.
    15. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    16. Imbens, Guido W & Angrist, Joshua D, 1994. "Identification and Estimation of Local Average Treatment Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(2), pages 467-475, March.
    17. Richard Hornbeck & Suresh Naidu, 2014. "When the Levee Breaks: Black Migration and Economic Development in the American South," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(3), pages 963-990, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tabellini, Marco & Bernini, Andrea & Facchini, Giovanni & Testa, Cecilia, 2023. "Black Empowerment and White Mobilization: The Effects of the Voting Rights Act," CEPR Discussion Papers 18238, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Andrea Bernini & Giovanni Facchini & Marco Tabellini & Cecilia Testa, 2024. "Sixty Years of the Voting Rights Act: Progress and Pitfalls," Economics Series Working Papers 1035, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrea Bernini, 2020. "The Voice of Radio in the Battle for Equal Rights: Evidence from the U.S. South," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _181, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    2. Alex Armand & Paul Atwell & Joseph F. Gomes & Yannik Schenk, 2023. "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman! Using mass media to fight intolerance," NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series wp2302, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
    3. Brian Knight & Ana Tribin, 2022. "Opposition Media, State Censorship, and Political Accountability: Evidence from Chavez’s Venezuela," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(2), pages 455-487.
    4. Ashani Amarasinghe & Paul A. Raschky, 2022. "Competing for Attention - The Effect of Talk Radio on Elections and Political Polarization in the US," SoDa Laboratories Working Paper Series 2022-02, Monash University, SoDa Laboratories.
    5. Ruben Enikolopov & Maria Petrova & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2011. "Media and Political Persuasion: Evidence from Russia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3253-3285, December.
    6. Bühler Mathias & Andrew Dickens, 2024. "From Couch to Poll: Media Content and The Value of Local Information," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 496, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    7. Junze Sun & Arthur Schram & Randolph Sloof, 2019. "A Theory on Media Bias and Elections," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 19-048/I, Tinbergen Institute.
    8. Mathias Bühler & Andrew Dickens & Andrew C. Dickens, 2024. "From Couch to Poll: Media Content and the Value of Local Information," CESifo Working Paper Series 10959, CESifo.
    9. Bernhardt, Lea & Dewenter, Ralf & Thomas, Tobias, 2020. "Measuring partisan media bias in US Newscasts from 2001-2012," Working Paper 183/2020, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, revised 15 Nov 2022.
    10. Bernhardt, Lea & Dewenter, Ralf & Thomas, Tobias, 2023. "Measuring partisan media bias in US newscasts from 2001 to 2012," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Cagé, Julia, 2017. "Media Competition, Information Provision and Political Participation: Evidence from French Local Newspapers and Elections, 1944," CEPR Discussion Papers 12198, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Alberto Alesina & Marco Tabellini, 2024. "The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 5-46, March.
    13. Felipe González & Magdalena Larreboure, 2021. "The Impact of the Women’s March on the U.S. House Election," Documentos de Trabajo 560, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    14. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    15. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7jk88md0ar9hga662p2vjjq4kc is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro & Michael Sinkinson, 2011. "The Effect of Newspaper Entry and Exit on Electoral Politics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 2980-3018, December.
    17. Melissa Rubio-Ramos, 2022. "From Plantations to Prisons: The Race Gap in Incarceration After the Abolition of Slavery in the U.S," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 195, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    18. Fernanda Leite Lopez Leon, 2016. "Endorse or Not to Endorse: Understanding the Determinants of Newspapers’ Likelihood of Making Political Recommendations," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 63(4), pages 357-376, September.
    19. Piolatto, Amedeo & Schuett, Florian, 2015. "Media competition and electoral politics," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 80-93.
    20. Marcel Garz & Jonna Rickardsson, 2023. "Ownership and media slant: Evidence from Swedish newspapers," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(1), pages 18-40, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ecopol:v:35:y:2023:i:1:p:163-226. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0954-1985 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.