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Who trusts Berlusconi? An econometric analysis of the role of television in the political arena

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  • Fabio Sabatini

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature by carrying out the first econometric investigation into the role of television in the formation of political consensus in Italy. Based on probit and instrumental variables estimates, we find trust in television to be the most significant predictor of trust in the Italian prime minister. The latter is also strongly and negatively correlated with trust in the judicial system and tolerance towards immigrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabio Sabatini, 2011. "Who trusts Berlusconi? An econometric analysis of the role of television in the political arena," EERI Research Paper Series EERI_RP_2011_08, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels.
    • Handle: RePEc:eei:rpaper:eeri_rp_2011_08
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    File URL: http://www.eeri.eu/documents/wp/EERI_RP_2011_08.pdf
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. La crisis de deuda es, también, una crisis de confianza
      by Marta in Capital social (confianza, redes y normas), Felicidad y Emprendimiento on 2011-08-10 17:03:08
    2. Do Italians trust the television or the judges?
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2011-07-04 21:45:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Eiji Yamamura & Fabio Sabatini, 2014. "Superstars in politics: the role of the media in the rise and success of Junichiro Koizumi," Papers 1407.1726, arXiv.org.
    2. Gilles Grolleau & Alain Marciano & Naoufel Mzoughi, 2020. "The scope for the strategic use of scandals," Post-Print hal-02306906, HAL.
    3. Scharfenkamp, Katrin, 2013. "Which qualifications does a minister of the German Federal Government need to be reoccupied?," CIW Discussion Papers 2/2013, University of Münster, Center for Interdisciplinary Economics (CIW).
    4. Gilles Grolleau & Alain Marciano & Naoufel Mzoughi, 2019. "The Scope For The Strategic Use Of Scandals," Working Papers hal-02306906, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trust; institutions; democracy; television; media; social capital; Italy; instrumental variables.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • H8 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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