Information and Public Choice

Description

The ability of the media to affect outcomes in economic and political markets has been well documented. News reporting and advertising influence consumer behavior in goods and services markets by revealing (or selectively revealing) information about a product, acting as agenda setters to influence consumer demand, or enhancing competition in markets by alerting consumers to substitutes. In political markets, they can affect behavior by informing voters about a politician's views or actions, enlightening citizens to outcomes of public policy, or taking a stance on political, social, or economic issues. For businesses, households, and most others, the media is the main source of information on public policy choices and current social and economic conditions. As a result, what news the media chooses to gather, analyze and disseminate--and the slant they choose to put on what they report--is of consequence.
'Information and Public Choice' addresses the factors that affect the content and reach of news coverage as well as its impact on public policy. The book addresses both market constraints that affect media--particularly news content--and the impact that news reporting has on economic and political choices. The authors examine a range of issues, including bias or slant in media reporting, the impact of markets and nonmarket factors on news reporting, and the role of government regulation of the media sector in developing countries. The studies in this volume provide new evidence and a good summary of previous research on the power of the media. An invaluable guide for those concerned about the impact of media on economic and political outcomes, 'Information and Public Choice' draws attention to an under-researched yet important area of economics.

Sujets

• Governance

Informations

• Publié par: world-bank-publications
• Publié le: 06 juin 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 59
• EAN13: 9780821375167
• Langue: English

Extrait

Information
and Public
Choice
FR OM MEDIA
MARKETS TO
POLICY MAKING

Roumeen Islam, EditorInformation and Public
Choice Information
and Public
Choice
From Media Markets
to Policy Making
Roumeen Islam, Editor
The World Bank
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This volume is not a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development /
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ISBN-13: 978-0-8213-7515-0
eISBN: 978-0-8213-7516-7
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-7515-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Information and public choice : from media markets to policymaking / edited by
Roumeen Islam.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8213-7515-0 — ISBN 978-0-8213-7516-7 (electronic)
1. Mass media--Economic aspects. 2. Mass media—Political aspects. 3. Mass
media and public opinion. 4. Communication in politics. 5. Communication in
economic development. I. Islam, Roumeen.
P96.E25.I54 2008
338.4’730223—dc22
2008011011
Cover design by Drew Fasick.Contents
Acknowledgments ix
About the Editor and Authors xi
Abbreviationsxv
1 Overview: From Media Markets to Policy 1
Roumeen Islam
2 The Media’s Infl uence on Public Policy Decisions 17
David Strömberg and James M. Snyder, Jr.
3 National Media and Local Political Participation: 33
The Case of the New York Times
Lisa M. George and Joel Waldfogel
4 Minority-Targeted Local Media and Voter Turnout:
A Summary 49
Joel Waldfogel
5 I’m News, Are You? Newspaper Coverage of Elected
vs. Appointed Offi cials 59
Riccardo Puglisi and James M. Snyder, Jr.
6 The Political Impact of Media Bias 79
Stefano DellaVigna and Ethan Kaplan
7 Market Forces and News Media in Muslim Countries 107
Matthew Gentzkow and Jesse M. Shapiro
8 Political Economy of Media Capture 121
Maria Petrova
9 Fostering an Independent Media with a Diversity of Views 139
Joseph Stiglitz
10 Media Regulation in the United States 153
Jonathan Levy
11 Aspects of Two Media Models: France and the
United Kingdom and EU Media Governance 177
Pierre-Yves Andrau
12 Three Countries: Three Stories 197
Edetaen Ojo, Ziad Majed, Bambang Harymurti
vvi Contents
Tables
2.1 Newsworthiness of Disasters 27
3.1 Sample Statistics 37
3.2 Does the New York Times Depress Voting among the
College Educated? 39
3.3 Robustness of Voting Results (Statewide Elections, Residency,
and Internet) 41
3.4 Does the New York Times Affect Knowledge of
Congressional Candidates? 45
4.1 Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Voter Turnout and the Presence
of Spanish-Language Local Television News 54
4.2 Percent of Black and White Voter Turnout in Locales
with and without Black Weekly Newspapers, 1998 55
4.3 Percent of Black and White Voter Turnout in Locales
with and without Black Radio Stations, 1994 and 1998 56
5.1 Average Newspaper Coverage of Elected vs. Appointed
Superintendents 63
5.2 Newspaper Coverage of Elected vs. Appointed Superintendents 66
5.3 Newspaper Coverage of Education Superintendents
and Governors 68
5.4 Election-Time Newspaper Coverage of Elected
Education Superintendents 70
5.5 Newspaper Coverage of Elected vs. Appointed Superintendents 72
6.1 Survey of Studies on Effect of Media Bias on Political Decisions 83
6.2 Impact of Fox News on Voting 92
6.3 Persuasion and Mobilization Rates 99
7.1 Consumer Beliefs and Satellite Television Viewership 112
7.2 Consumer Beliefs and Assessments of Quality 113
7.3 Consumption of Local Media 118
8.1 Regional Media Freedom and Advertisement Revenues,
Russian Media 132
8.2 Description of Variables and Data Sources 133
12.1 Freedom of the Press in Indonesia 217
12.2 Global Corruption Perception Index 218
12.3 Number of Complaints to the Press Council 218
12.4 Number of Publications in Indonesia 219Contents vii
Figures
7.1 Country-by-Country Newspaper Coeffi cients 117
8.1 Inequality and Media Freedom (Freedom House) for
Democratic Countries 124
8.2 Inequality and Media Freedom (Freedom House) for Autocracies 124
8.3 Media Freedom (Freedom House) and Public Spending on
Education for Democracies 125
8.4 Media Freedom (Freedom House) and Public Spending on
Education for Democracies 126
8.5 Media Freedom (Freedom House) and Public Spending on Health
for Democratic Countries 126
8.6 Media Freedom (Freedom House) and Public Spending on Health
for Autocracies 127
8.7 Fraction of Independent Newspapers in U.S. Counties
as a Function of Advertising Rates in 1881 134Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge the participants who contributed to the con-
ference, The Effects of Mass Media on Public Policy, held on April 12–13,
2007, which initiated this volume: Caroline Anstey, Shanta Devarajan, Alan
Gelb, Steen Lau Jorgensen, Daniel Kaufmann, Steve Knack, Brian Knight,
Mustapha Nabli, Rakesh Nangia, Sina Odugbemi, Sanjay Pradhan, and
Janet Steele. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of several
colleagues who worked toward the production of this book and assisted
in the administrative arrangements of the conference: Dulce Afzal, Lucas
A. Bossard, Juan Castilo, Blair Ann Corcoran, John Didier, Maxine Alonso
Pineda, Sunetra Puri, and Kaitlin Tierney.
ix