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Terrorism, media coverage and education: Evidence from al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya

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  • Goerlach, Joseph-Simon
  • Alfano, Marco

Abstract

We examine how terrorism alters the demand for education through perceived risks and returns by relating terrorist attacks to media signal coverage and schooling in Kenya. Exploiting geographical and temporal variation in wireless signal coverage and attacks, we establish that media access reinforces negative effects of terrorism on schooling. These effects are confirmed when we instrument both media signal and the incidence of attacks. For households with media access, we also find a significant relation between media content and schooling and a significant effect of attacks on self-reported fears and concerns. Based on these insights, we estimate a simple structural model where heterogeneous households experiencing terrorism form beliefs about risks and returns to education. We exploit the same quasi-experimental variation as in the reduced form analysis to identify how media change subjective expectations. The results show that households with media access significantly over-estimate fatality risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Goerlach, Joseph-Simon & Alfano, Marco, 2022. "Terrorism, media coverage and education: Evidence from al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya," CEPR Discussion Papers 17322, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17322
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    Cited by:

    1. Besley, Timothy & Fetzer, Thiemo & Mueller, Hannes, 2023. "How Big is the Media Multiplier? Evidence from Dyadic News Data," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 692, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Terrorism; Media; Expectations; Education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • F52 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - National Security; Economic Nationalism
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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