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Media Coverage and Political Accountability: Theory and Evidence

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  • Strömberg, David

Abstract

This chapter investigates how media coverage filters information and how this affects political accountability and policy. I first present a baseline model of media coverage and its affect political accountability. The model is used to discuss the welfare consequences of private provision of news. It shows how media regulation and public broadcasting may correct market failures, notably the under-provision of news. The model also supplies an array of testable implications, used to organize the existing empirical work. The key empirical questions are: what drives media coverage of politics; how does this coverage influence the information levels and the voting behavior of the general public, the actions and selection of politicians and government policy?

Suggested Citation

  • Strömberg, David, 2015. "Media Coverage and Political Accountability: Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 10638, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10638
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    Cited by:

    1. David Strömberg, 2015. "Media and Politics," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 173-205, August.
    2. Anikó Bíró & Ágnes Szabó-Morvai, 2021. "Mass media coverage and vaccination uptake: evidence from the demand for meningococcal vaccinations in Hungary," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(6), pages 887-903, August.
    3. Yukihiro Yazaki, 2017. "Newspapers and political accountability: evidence from Japan," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 311-331, September.
    4. Belloc, Marianna, 2018. "Voting behavior and the terrestrial digital divide," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 14-17.
    5. Saori Ihara & Yukihiro Yazaki, 2017. "Determinants of Public Service Broadcasting Size," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 129-151, May.
    6. Prat, Andrea & Kennedy, Patrick, 2017. "Where Do People Get Their News?," CEPR Discussion Papers 12426, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Legge, Stefan & Schmid, Lukas, 2016. "Media attention and betting markets," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 304-333.
    8. Jacopo Perego & Sevgi Yuksel, 2022. "Media Competition and Social Disagreement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(1), pages 223-265, January.
    9. Nordin, Mattias, 2019. "Local television, citizen knowledge and U.S. senators' roll-call voting," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 212-232.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Media; Policy; Regulation; Voting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media

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