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Western TV and Crimes against Foreigners in East Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Omar Martin Fieles-Ahmad

    (Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg)

  • Michael Kvasnica

    (Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg)

Abstract

Following reunification, anti-foreigner crimes rose sharply in the former GDR. Using countylevel data for the early 1990s, we study if regional access to Western TV, i.e. non-socialist media, prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall had an impact on regional levels of serious antiforeigner crime (murder and arson) in East Germany. We find that East German counties with no access to Western TV exhibit higher rates of such crimes, as in the ’valley of the clueless’ around Dresden. This crime-attenuating effect of Western TV proves robust in a battery of robustness checks and underscores the importance of media for anti-foreigner attitudes and crimes well before the rise of the internet and social media.

Suggested Citation

  • Omar Martin Fieles-Ahmad & Michael Kvasnica, 2026. "Western TV and Crimes against Foreigners in East Germany," FEMM Working Papers 26009, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Faculty of Economics and Management.
    • Handle: RePEc:mag:wpaper:26009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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