Beyond Borders: Is Media Freedom Contagious?

Sobel, Russell S.; Dutta, Nabamita; Roy, Sanjukta

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1341779

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Beyond Borders: Is Media Freedom Contagious?

Kyklos, 63 (1), 123 - 133

33 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2009 Last revised: 14 Jan 2013

See all articles by Russell S. Sobel

Sanjukta Roy

World Bank Institute

There are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: November 12, 2008

Abstract

Previous literature stresses the importance of free media for economic development. By its nature TV, radio, and newspapers cross borders allowing citizens to easily sample media from neighboring countries. This creates pressure for domestic reform and spreads media freedom between countries. Using spatial econometric techniques, and a sample of 102 countries, we test for the presence of geographic spillovers in media freedom. We find that a country's level of media freedom significantly depends on its neighbors. Countries 'catch' approximately 25 percent of their media freedom from neighboring countries. Our results are robust to alternative specifications and measures of press freedom.

Keywords: Media Freedom, Contagion, Domino Effect

JEL Classification: C2, L82, O12

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Sobel, Russell S. and Dutta, Nabamita and Roy, Sanjukta, Beyond Borders: Is Media Freedom Contagious? (November 12, 2008). Kyklos, 63 (1), 123 - 133, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1341779 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1341779