Mass Media and Public Policy : Global Evidence from Agricultural Policies
Mass media play a crucial role in information distribution and in the political market and public policy making. Theory predicts that information provided by the mass media reflects the media's incentives to provide news to different groups in...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/02/17292999/mass-media-public-policy-global-evidence-agricultural-policies http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13146 |
| Summary: | Mass media play a crucial role in
information distribution and in the political market and
public policy making. Theory predicts that information
provided by the mass media reflects the media's
incentives to provide news to different groups in society
and affects these groups' influence in policy making.
The paper use data on agricultural policy from 69 countries
spanning a wide range of development stages and media
markets to test these predictions. The empirical results are
consistent with theoretical hypotheses that public support
for agriculture is affected by the mass media. In
particular, an increase in media (television) diffusion is
associated with policies that benefit the majority to a
greater extent and is correlated with a reduction in
agriculture taxation in poor countries and a reduction in
the subsidization of agriculture in rich countries, ceteris
paribus. The empirical results are consistent with the
hypothesis that increased competition in commercial media
reduces transfers to special interest groups and contributes
to more efficient public policies. |
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