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Wealth taxation in the Austrian Press from 2005 to 2020: a critical political economy analysis

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  • Quirin Dammerer
  • Georg Hubmann
  • Hendrik Theine

Abstract

This study focuses on the Austrian media coverage of wealth taxes by conducting a content analysis of all commentary pieces published in 2005–2020 by five Austrian daily newspapers. We find (i) that the majority of commentaries take a negative position towards wealth taxation, (ii) that journalists write more negative comments than guest authors do and (iii) 50 argumentative patterns in five main categories. In light of these findings, we discuss several potential drivers of the predominantly negative wealth taxation coverage: the high degree of ownership concentration by wealthy families and institutions in the Austrian newspaper market, the importance of advertising to fund newspapers and the influence of elite institutions as providers of information. Finally, we embed our findings in recent literature and illustrate similarities and differences of the German and Austrian media coverage of wealth taxation.

Suggested Citation

  • Quirin Dammerer & Georg Hubmann & Hendrik Theine, 2023. "Wealth taxation in the Austrian Press from 2005 to 2020: a critical political economy analysis," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 47(3), pages 633-666.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:47:y:2023:i:3:p:633-666.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/bead011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Patrick Emmenegger & Paul Marx, 2019. "The Politics of Inequality as Organised Spectacle: Why the Swiss Do Not Want to Tax the Rich," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 103-124, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Maschke, Andreas, 2024. "Talking exports: The representation of Germany's current account in newspaper media," MPIfG Discussion Paper 24/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    2. Dias, Thiago & Gonçalves, Sebastián, 2024. "Effectiveness of wealth-based vs exchange-based tax systems in reducing inequality," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 641(C).
    3. Schieferdecker, David & Reinhardt, Susanne & Mijs, Jonathan & Silva, Graziella Moraes & Teeger, Chana & Carvalhaes, Flavio & Seekings, Jeremy, 2024. "Everyday conversations about economic inequality: a research agenda," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125293, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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