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3G Internet and Confidence in Government

Author

Listed:
  • Sergei Guriev

    (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Nikita Melnikov

    (State University Higher School of Economics)

  • Ekaterina Zhuravskaya

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

How does the internet affect government approval? Using surveys of 840,537 individuals from 2,232 subnational regions in 116 countries in 2008-2017 from the Gallup World Poll and the global expansion of 3G networks, we show that an increase in internet access reduces government approval and increases the perception of corruption in government. This effect is present only when the internet is not censored and is stronger when traditional media is censored. Actual incidents of corruption translate into higher corruption perception only in places covered by 3G. In Europe, the expansion of mobile internet increased vote shares of anti-establishment populist parties.

Suggested Citation

  • Sergei Guriev & Nikita Melnikov & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2019. "3G Internet and Confidence in Government," SciencePo Working papers hal-03393086, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpspec:hal-03393086
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03393086
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    Government Approval; 3G; Mobile; Internet; Corruption; Populism;
    All these keywords.

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