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The Role of Media Slant in Elections and Economics

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Author Info
John Duggan () (W. Allen Wallis Institute of Political Economy, 107 Harkness Hall, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0158)
César Martinelli () (Centro de Investigación Económica, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México)

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Abstract

We formalize the concept of media slant as a relative emphasis on di¤erent issues of political interest by the media, and we illustrate the e¤ects of the media choice of slant on political outcomes and economic decisions in a rational expectations model. In a two-candidate elec- tion, if the media is biased in favor of the underdog, then it will put more emphasis on issues with a large electoral impact, hoping that the news will deliver an upset victory. Whether citizens are better o¤ with media biased in favor of the underdog or the frontrunner de- pends on the importance of choosing the .right.candidate for citizens versus the impact of political news on the private economic decisions of voters. Balanced media, giving each issue equal coverage, may be worse for voters than partisan media.

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File URL: http://www.wallis.rochester.edu/WallisPapers/wallis_54.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Rochester - Wallis Institute of Political Economy in its series Wallis Working Papers with number WP54.

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Length: 39 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2008
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Handle: RePEc:roc:wallis:wp54

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Postal: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, Wallis Institute, HARKNESS 109B ROCHESTER NEW YORK 14627 U.S.A.

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  2. Edward L. Glaeser & Giacomo A. M. Ponzetto & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2004. "Strategic Extremism: Why Republicans and Democrats Divide on Religious Values," NBER Working Papers 10835, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2006. "What Drives Media Slant? Evidence from U.S. Daily Newspapers," NBER Working Papers 12707, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Tim Groseclose & Jeffrey Milyo, 2005. "A Measure of Media Bias," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 120(4), pages 1191-1237, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Stefano DellaVigna & Ethan Kaplan, 2006. "The Fox News Effect: Media Bias and Voting," NBER Working Papers 12169, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Valentino Larcinese & Riccardo Puglisi & James M. Snyder, Jr., 2007. "Partisan Bias in Economic News: Evidence on the Agenda-Setting Behavior of U.S. Newspapers," NBER Working Papers 13378, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Jimmy Chan & Wing Suen, 2003. "Media as Watchdogs: The Role of News Media in Electoral Competition," Economics Working Paper Archive 497, The Johns Hopkins University,Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  16. Timothy Besley & Andrea Prat, 2006. "Handcuffs for the Grabbing Hand? Media Capture and Government Accountability," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(3), pages 720-736, June. [Downloadable!]
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  17. David Str–mberg, 2004. "Mass Media Competition, Political Competition, and Public Policy," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 71(1), pages 265-284, 01. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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